Alison Dilaurentis Must Die
by TahitianTreat
Summary: Alison Dilaurentis is the most popular girl in school, but what happens when a group of girls get together and conspire to take her down. Inspired by the best movie ever (John tucker must die). (Emison fiction). Please read
1. Chapter 1

Alison Dilaurentis Must Die

1st Episode: The Encounter

 **Alison's POV:**

"I think you should leave." I say softly staring down at my hands, refusing to look at her.

"Alison...please..." She starts brokenly. "I'm so sorry...I never meant for it to go this far." She finishes tears forming in her eyes.

"But it did Emily." I say standing up, walking towards my window. "You used me, you manipulated me, and you-you..." I trail off shaking my head. I refuse to let her know just how deep my pain runs. How broken my heart really is. "God! I can't believe I let you do this to me."

"Seriously Alison?!" Emily exclaims standing up from the bed as well. "I mean...I know I'm the villain in this story but you're no saint either." Emily says wiping the few stray tears off her face. "Let's not forget the reason all of this happened." She says gesturing around her. "Let's not forget why I originally came here."

After hearing her say those words, I finally turn around to face her. And Emily looks as if she immediately regrets her choice of words by the broken-hearted look that graces her face, or maybe she was just mirroring the look on mines. "Alison...I-"

"I think I asked you to leave." I say, cutting her off, trying my best to keep a neutral expression.

"Please Ali don't do this..." Emily pleads almost desperately.

"No...I'm certain I told you to leave." I say more forcefully this time.

Emily stares at me for a moment before she nods her head admitting defeat. "Okay if that's what you really want Ali..." Emily says moving towards the door.

"Its Alison." I correct in a harsher tone than I intended.

Emily just gives me a small nod before disappearing out of the door.

It's not until I hear the front door close as well before I let the water gates open.

Love stinks! Phew, glad I got that out of my system. For many of you just tuning in, my name is Alison Dilaurentis and I've just had my heart broken by Emily Fields. And trust me...I know you're wondering what the hell is going on...how did I manage to get my heart broken by America's sweet heart. Well...I'll tell you, and it involves me starting with the phrase 'Love Stinks'. But I never used to think that...well for several months I didn't. At first I never really believed that fairytale love existed. I wasn't naive enough to believe in soul mates. That's why when I met Emily Fields i never thought anything could come out of our complicated friendship. Until it did. And everything I once thought...I didn't think anymore. I fell In love so deep that I was blinded by what was right in front of me. My life couldn't get any more perfect. Her smile, her eyes, her beautiful soft skin...everything attracted me to her. And I thought she felt the same way about me. But because this is real life and reality is a bitch, I was dragged down from cloud nine kicking and screaming before being slammed into the concrete repeatedly. I now suffer a fractured skull, jaw, pelvis and even worse a broken heart. But it didn't always start off this bad. No, it was even worse at one point in time. Don't believe me? Look I'll show you.

-16 years ago-

"Congratulations Mrs. Dilaurentis it's a girl-"

Whoops! Okay maybe not that early on in my life. Let's try that one again.

-6 months ago-

I jump startled as something knocks on my window. I slowly climb out of bed and looks out my window peering down at the unsuspected figure.

"Hey!" Emily whispers loudly while peering up towards the window. "Come down...I have a surprise for you." She says with an eager smile.

Hmm not quite yet. It was a little bit before that.

\- 1 year ago-

"About damn time you showed up!" Mona screeches drunkenly as she stumbles onto the front porch out of the fog of the house.

Okay here we are.

I just give her an eye roll as I walks towards the entrance of the house. "Don't be so over dramatic Mona. I'm 20 minutes late, that's fashionably standard." I say dismissively as I look Mona up and down. "And why the hell are you dressed like a damn leprechaun?" I asks in slight disgust.

"It's a stop light party bitch, I'm just giving guys the green light." Mona says with a smirk while gesturing to her clothing.

"Yeah the green light to run." I say with a scoff.

"Fuck you." Mona says with no real heat behind her words as she looks me up and down. "And I thought I told you to wear green, not that tired ass yellow shirt you always wear. Your supposed to impress the senior boys not chase them away with the odor from that shirt."

I roll my eyes again. "This isn't my first high school party Mona, I know how these things work. And giving guys the 'green light' to hit on me says desperate." I say pointedly, causing Mona to flip me the bird. "So I went for yellow. Approachable, yet hard to get." I say with a smug smile.

Mona nods her head as if impressed with me, giving me a small smirk. "I have to say your learning pretty fast."

If I keep rolling my eyes they'll probably get stuck, but I can't help it Mona really is clueless sometimes. "Please all boys think the same. With a little cleavage on display I'll have these guys eating out of the palm of my hand." I say waving my hand dismissively.

Mona rolls her eyes, responding with a scoff. "You do know that you're in a relationship right? Speaking of which where's your little boy toy tonight?"

I shrug. "We just started dating like 2 weeks ago, it would be tacky for us to just start showing up to outings as a couple." I defend weakly

Mona just smirks at this. "Yeah right. You just didn't want to wear the color red."

Well maybe not so clueless, I let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh god no, that color is just as tasteless as green." I cry out as we enter the house.

Liar. I'm the perfect little liar, or you can say actress. I walk through my life wearing the perfect mask. Most people think I'm this cold hearted bitch, who steps on anyone who gets in the way, to get what I want. And sure I am, but there's more to me than just that. I mean I never wanted to be this person. I had to be. My family status put a lot of unwanted attention on me, and it made me a target. People looked at me, judged me, scrutinized my every move. I had to do something to protect myself. So I became Alison Dilaurentis. The Princess of rosewood. The bitch they all know and love. Well the last part came into play when I started hanging with Mona. She showed me the key to success on how to own the students of Rosewood high.

I call it secretes, she calls it ammunition and everyone else calls us bitches. I had to do things I'm not proud of, say things that broke people just to get where I'm at. And I'll be damned if I fall at the hands of someone else. Mona already ran this school, but let's just say that with me by her side...I increased her status.

I'm not this cold hearted person that people think I am. I'm normal, just like everyone else. I like to read and write. I'm not some dumb blonde, I actually have a brain. My eyes may be a vibrant blue, but they aren't as perfect as they seem. I wear contacts so people won't see me squinting during class. And on the weekends I wear big dorky glasses. The heels I wear causes callouses on my feet and the make-up I paint on my face causes bags under my eyes. Sometimes when people stare at me I feel self conscious, so I'll flee the room and avoid eye contact. I'm not perfect, and pretending to be is very tiring. So tiring that sometimes I turn off my phone and hide from everyone and anything for days at a time. But I guess that's the price of being me. Or at least pretending to be me.

Because of the size of Rosewood, image is everything. Perfection is the only thing. And you maintain perfection by keeping your personal life just that...personal. Lies, deceit, and best of all secretes. Secretes is the only thing holding this small community together. People would fall apart if their secretes would get out. Family's would be dethroned. That's why I make it my personal duty to know at least one secrete of everyone. You never know when that ammunition my come in handy. And that's why I protect my secretes with my life...because once they find out my secretes...there's no coming back for me.

But back to the issue at hand...this party:

Predictable. That's the only word to describe this party. There's this slight musky smell from the dancing bodies as a slight fog clouds the air. The music is much louder than it should be, I guess it's to create the illusion of fun and inviting. Everything this party will turn out not to be. My eyesight is insulted with the overuse of the colors red, green, and yellow. Especially green, which is mainly worn by the desperate slutty and nerdy girls attempting to catch the attention of the jocks, who are huddled in the kitchen drinking beer, and doing body shots off of the slutty cheerleaders who already has their attention. There's a few yellow shirts and even less red. Because let's face it, the main reason you come to this kind of party is to hook up and have fun, not cuddle together with your high school sweetheart. About 40% of the teenagers are dancing, while the other 60% are lounging around with their friends, or attempting to get some girl drunk so they can take advantage of them. Again predictable. This is what you should expect to see at a typical Rosewood High party. And as I've predicted again, all eyes have now turned to look at me and the spotlight has now become my natural light. But that's to be expected when Rosewoods very own princess walks into the party.

I look around at the mindless zombies staring at me before I start to walk further into the house with Mona right on my heels.

"Alison, babes, you made it." Eric Khan says as he wraps his arm around my shoulder leading me further into the party. "Nice shirt by the way." He says with a teasing smile. "But just because your in yellow doesn't mean we can't hook up right."

"Only in your dreams Khan." I say pushing his arm from around my shoulder.

"A boy can only try." He says wistfully before turning and giving Mona an appraising look. "You're looking good Mona. And green is definitely your color." He says with a wolfish grin.

"Eat your heart out." Mona says with an eye roll as she moves past him, taking my hand in hers. "Let's go get some booze. If I have to be around hormonal teenagers all night, I don't want to do it sober." Mona says as she leads me into the kitchen, where all the jocks stop and looks at us in amazement.

"Hey baby...what can I get you?" A tall, slightly muscular guy asks leaning against the counter, blocking the path to the beer cooler. He stands about 6'3 with short black hair. Based on his smile you can tell he has no trouble in the lady department. And based on his smirk, it's obvious he doesn't take no for an answer. Something about him makes him dangerous in my eyes, which causes my defenses to set in, and that can't be good for anyone around. But before I can react Mona steps in, completely stopping the problem before it starts. Or starting one.

"What's good here Fabio." Mona asks with a smirk

"The names Ian." He says with hard eyes, but never dropping his smirk. "But for a pretty girl like you, you can call me anything you want." He adds with a wink for good measure.

"How about I call you Jack Daniels." She says motioning to the bottles behind him.

He just smirks at this letting out a small chuckle. He eyes Mona for a moment before turning to look at me. Our eyes meet briefly as he tosses me a small smile. I internally frown at this but externally I raise a challenging eyebrow at him. His smirk grows even more at this, before he turns to grab two bottles. "Here you go." He says charmingly.

"Thanks Ivan." Mona says taking the bottles, handing one to me.

"It's Ian." He corrects, his eyes flashing cold again.

Mona just smirks at this and turns on her heels putting her arm around my shoulder. "Thanks again Idris." She calls over her shoulder as she moves towards the living area.

Once out of sight. I lets out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. "And I thought I was a bitch." I say, causing Mona to let out a laugh.

"Oh you still are my little Frankenstein." Mona adds with a wink for good measure. "But the night is still young, let's not waste it away." She concludes downing almost half the bottle.

"You better slow down before you become some drunken jock boys' one night stand." I comment eyeing Mona warily.

"And, it'll be his lucky night." Mona says leaning heavily against my shoulder.

-/-2 hours later-/-

This is just like Mona to disappear. One minute she was standing by my side teasing some girl, who was dressed in what Mona would call Cinderella rags, and now she's out of sight, most likely with some 12th grader, making out.

I let out an irritable sigh as I shift my back against the wall. I watch all the familiar and not so familiar faces blend into each other as they mingle around the crowd, hoping that one of them might be Mona. It was then that I realized how much I hated the color green, it made me want to puke.

"Hey." Some short guy says walking over towards me. "I noticed you over here standing by yourself and I was just wondering would you like to dance?" He asks with an awkward smile.

At this I tilt my head to the side as I eye him up and down. He was about my height making him about 5'6. That was a no-go in my book, I like to look up at my men, not eye level. He had a slight muscular frame, but he was a bit to much on the scrawny side. His hair was dark and messy. Something that I hated immediately, the messy look only looked right on certain people, and definitely not for him. And his smile was too awkward nothing close to charming. Altogether he was a big fat red X in my book.

"What's your name?" I ask with a smirk playing on my lips. This kid had no idea what he was getting into.

"Mason." He says with his same awkward smile, shifting foot from foot nervously.

My smirk never falters as I size him up and down. "Mason huh? What a suiting name. Well Mason do you know who I am?" I ask knowingly.

"Uh...yes? Yo-You're Alison Dilaurentis." He stutters out slightly, with a confused look.

"That's right darling. Thee Alison Dilaurentis. And you should know that using that tired pick-up line wasn't going to work on me." I say my smirk growing more sinister. "But since this is a party and I'm in a happy mood, I'll allow you to tuck your tail between your legs and walk away." I say dismissively, but effectively scaring him, causing Mason to stumble as he walks away quickly.

I let out a small sigh, slightly proud of a myself. I marvel in my evilness until I'm interrupted by someone letting out a soft low whistle. "Impressive." A voice to my right says.

I turn my head to look at the person in question. "Excuse me?" I asks raising an eyebrow.

"That was pretty impressive, the way you scared that guy off like that. For a moment I thought he was going to shit his pants." A tall Filipino girl says.

I turn and size her up with a raised eyebrow, the same way I did that guy. What I see caused me to frown, but not out of disgust, more like out of envy.

And I would absolutely die before I admit that this girl is absolutely breathtaking. She stands about two inches taller than me. Bronze skin, brilliant black hair that travels down her back. The skirt she has on shows off her legs, and those legs are definitely worth showing off. By the looks of this girl you would think model, but her demeanor doesn't shoot off confidence, it says athlete, quiet, bookworm, someone more behind the scenes. I would also be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by her. And for the second time tonight my defenses are up and I'm ready to attack.

"I'm sorry who are you?" I asks, placing a hand on my hip.

"Emily." The girls says with a small smile before raising her beer can up to her mouth. "And before you asks, yes I do know who you are, Alison Dilaurentis." She says with a smirk.

"Well Emily, I've never heard of you before." I say with a sarcastic smile.

Emily just laughs and sips from her can again. "I'm surprised. I assumed you knew exactly who I was."

"And what the hell is that suppose to mean?" I asks placing a hand on my hip.

Emily just smirks at me while tilting her head knowingly. "Let's not pretend you don't make it your business to know every face in rosewood. I mean...how else are you going to know the names of your victims as they bow down to you."

Before I know it my eyes flash dangerous and I have to physically stop myself from attacking her. She's really barking up the wrong tree here. "Well I guess that refutes your little theory seeing as I don't know you at all.." I say through gritted teeth.

"Hmm well that don't sound like the Alison Dilaurentis I've heard of." Emily says nodding her head. "Well here's to an apology for assumptions." She says holding up her beer can in salute.

I choose not to respond. Instead I stare daggers at Emily, hoping by some miracle she would spontaneously combust.

Emily's smirk falls off of her face the longer she makes eye contact with me. She lets out a sigh as she finishes off her can of beer. "I should apologize for what I'm saying. I'm drunk and ready to go home. I just thought if I talked to you for a while it would take my mind off of some things. I guess I went about it the wrong way." She says with a sheepish smile and a shrug.

I don't know why but my glare softens at her confession. "I see your dressed in red...did your boyfriend take off with some cheerleader?" I ask teasingly.

Emily lets out a scoff. "Yeah right." She mutters under her breath. She lets out another sigh then shakes her head giving me a small smile. "Why are you over here alone. I'm sure a girl of your stature should have guys flocked all around you, eating out the palm of your hand." Emily says her teasing tone creeping back up.

I just roll my eyes at this. "I'm not much in a feeding mood." I say sarcastically.

"Hmm I couldn't tell." Emily says with her own smirk. "The way you just bit that guy's head off."

Against my will a genuine smile makes its way on my face, as I tilt my head to appraise Emily. "Your kind of a bitch." I say bluntly.

"Hmm," Emily grunts out, appearing in thought. "Seems like we're two peas in a pod right now. But to my defense, I'm drunk." She says holding up her empty beer can. "You on the other hand might just stay that way afterwards." She says with her own smile.

I just shakes her head and let out a chuckle, as I lean against the wall letting out a sigh.

Just then my line of sight it blocked by a tall figure appearing over her. I push off of the wall, preparing for whatever. I look up at the recognizable face. It's the guy from earlier but I can't put a name to him. So I fold my arms across my chest waiting for him to make the next move.

He gives a charming smile, appearing down at both me and Emily. "Hey Emily, you look nice."

Emily just gives a head nod back, with a tight lipped smile. "Wish I could say the same to you Ian."

Ian! That's his name. I let out a small breath in relief. Emily was right about one thing I always need to know who Im tearing down by name. Makes it more meaningful. But the biggest question is, what's going on between him and Emily. I look back and forth between the two, to see them in some kind of stare off. Weird.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask breaking their eye contact. It was getting to creepy for me and I was losing my patience.

Ian turns back to face me giving what I assume to be his most charming smile. "Well I noticed your friend wasn't around you, and you've been standing here by your lonesome for almost over an hour. I wanted to see if you would care to dance?" He asks, his boyish smile growing full-blown creepy.

"You know I'm starting to think I have approachable written on my forehead. First that creepy little boy, then her" I say tossing a look towards Emily who just shrugs uncaringly. "...And now you." I say looking him up and down in mild disgust. "What makes you think I should take you up on your offer?" I ask placing a hand on my hip.

Ian just smiles with a shrug. " I'm not asking for you to marry me, just a simple dance. I know you came here to have fun, and I'm sure standing against the wall for an hour doesn't constitute as such." He says reasonably. "Just one dance?" He says his smile turning slightly sincere.

I let out a sigh as I mentally debate my options. I could stand here for the rest of the night while I wait for Mona. But that would scream pathetic, and besides, as much as I enjoyed talking to Emily, (And I saythat with great sarcasm,) I would rather not continue to be insulted. On the other hand, Ian is cute, and most likely a senior or a recent graduate, but he's very creepy. And somethings off about his intentions. But nonetheless I'm the Princess of Rosewood and I have to make impressions among my peers if I plan on keeping my status until Senior year.

I turn to look at Emily who has a blank expression on her face. Emily then makes eye contact with me, and something flashes through her eyes. Almost like a plea or a warning. But just as soon as it comes it disappears, and Emily's face returns to neutral. I raise a perfectly arched eyebrow at her, almost in a challenging way. But Emily doesn't take the bate, instead she gives me a smile and raises her eyebrow right back, and I roll my eyes in response.

"Sure." I say redirecting my attention towards Ian.

Ian smiles and takes my hand and pulls me towards the dance floor.

An upbeat song begins to play and all of the moving bodies seem to flow along to it. From the outside looking in, it seems that everyone's jumping around making fools of themselves. But from the inside it's almost hypnotizing the way everyone moves in-sync, even if your dancing with someone else.

I was never much of a dancer but when I do dance, I tend to lose myself in the music. But I'm always on alert mode, so I make sure to keep a safe distance between me and Ian, who seems to have two left feet.

Ian on the other hand is more interested in my body movement to pay any attention to the music himself. He watches as I twirl along to the beat of the music, swaying my hips, not even caring if he's off beat, or stepping on somebody else's toes. Not fighting against his urges, he pulls my body flush against his owns as the beat of the music turns more sultry. He stares down at me almost predatory like. It's scaring the hell out of me. Like he'll do anything to make sure he has me.

Despite all that, I was having fun until Ian pulled me towards him. I attempt to step back but I wasn't allowed, as his hand tightened around my waist. I tried not to think to much into it as I will myself to relax, and continue dancing. We grind to the beat a little while longer. I notice that Ian's breathing is changing, and his eyes are dilating.

Of course I know he's getting 'happy', and it only further proves my point when he leans in to kiss me. But I turn my head in time and his mouth lands on my cheek. Instead of taking this as a sign to back off he starts to slowly kiss down my jaw, and onto my neck. I try to push him off but his grip tightens and he lets out a grunt, Grinding his lower half into me.

Okay this is getting a little too x-rated for me so I try again.

"Ian stop." I say attempting to push out of his strong grip. But he ignores me as he continues to kiss down my neck. "Ian." I say a bit louder only to be ignored again. "Ian I said stop!" I yell shoving him hard, causing him to stumble back.

Ian finally looks at me through his lust filled haze, then takes in their surroundings. "Sorry." He says letting out a breath attempting to calm his emotions down. "I lost control for a bit. It's just that your so beautiful Ali, I don't know what came over me." He says attempting to step closer to me.

"It's Alison." I correct instantly, holding out my hand to stop him from stepping any closer to me. "And I'm done dancing. Find yourself another girl to dry hump." I say with disgust before turning to walk away.

"Wait, let me at least get you a drink." Ian says quickly, stopping me from leaving. "Maybe we can take a walk out back and talk. I promise I'm not that bad of a guy. Just had to much to drink. Consider it a peace offering." He says sheepishly. "Just one drink?"

I let out a sigh and mentally curse myself for even considering it. I turn to look towards the wall to see that Emily girl no longer there. Well that goes my second option. I let out another sign then turns to nod my head yes. "Sure." I say with even less enthusiasm then the look I give.

Ian takes my hand again and leads me into the kitchen. When he walks in a couple of his jock buddies are all standing around the drinks. He gives them a nod and they smile knowingly, moving out of his way to grant him access to the booze. "I'll make you my specialty." He says tossing a smile over his shoulder towards me.

I simply roll my eyes and lean against the counter. I attempt to look over his shoulder to watch him but his tall figure won't allow it. I give up and turn to face the crowd. Originally looking for Mona, but I guess my mind subconsciously scans the crowd for that Emily girl as well.

"Here you are." Ian says turning around handing me a drink. "Don't ask what's in it because it's a trade secrete." He says with a smirk.

I eye the drink for a moment before taking it. "Thanks." I mutter.

Ian just smirks at me and lifts his own glass up to his mouth, watching me carefully.

I frown in thought. I can't believe I'm stuck in this kitchen with this asshole. But I'm even more pissed at the fact that my best friend ditched me. Rosewoods Princess couldn't even keep better company around her, how pathetic. And the more I thinks about it the angrier I get. I look down at the cup in my hand and raise it towards my lips. Might as well drown out my sorrows.

But right before I can take a swallow someone crashes into me causing me to drop the cup, and spill the drink all over my shirt.

"What the fuck!" I screech, looking down at my now ruined shirt. "What the fuck is your problem?" I yell again finally looking up to see the culprit, only to make eye-contact with nun other than Emily Fields herself. I'm pretty sure my eyes flash red as I let out a growl.

"Whoops." Emily says with a giggle. "I guess the alcohol is finally getting to me." She says with an uncaring shrug.

"Whoops? Is that all you have to say? You just ruined my favorite shirt and all you have to say is whoops?" I asks stepping closer towards Emily menacingly.

"Don't worry Alison, I'll buy you a new shirt. Just let me make you another drink. We can take that walk." Ian prods attempting to stop the situation from escalating, by grabbing my arm before I can walk away.

"Fuck your drink." I say pulling my arm away from his grip.

"Here let me take you to get cleaned up." Emily says grabbing my hand, pulling me away.

"No!" Ian says grabbing my other arm. "Stay. My mom owns a chain of Laundromats I'm sure she'd be able to help clean that up." He says almost pleadingly.

"And my mom used to work at one. I'm sure she knows more." Emily says pulling me back towards her.

"Stay out of this Emily." Ian finally says his eyes flashing dangerous.

"She's off limits Ian." Emily replies back through gritted teeth.

I just stare between both of them confused. "Let me go." I say pulling out of both of their grips. "I can take care of myself." I say straightening my clothes. "Come on." I say grabbing Emily's hand. "We don't have long before this stain sets in, and you better know what your doing." I say pulling her toward the stairs, leading her towards a vacant bathroom.

I don't have to turn around to see the smug look Emily throws toward Ian, and the menacingly glare he gives to Emily.

"I cannot believe you just did that!" I say as I storm into the bathroom. I walk over towards the sink and turn on the cold water, trying to rinse the stain out. The more water runs over my yellow shirt the angrier I get. I turn to look over towards Emily who's leaning casually against the wall watching me. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Cold water won't help." Emily says moving off of the wall towards me. She grabs the bottom of my shirt and motions for me to lift my arms up. When I comply, she takes my shirt off and runs it under extremely hot water.

So awkwardly I just stand there shifting back and forth in my black lace bra. I fold my arms over my chest to protect myself from the cold air, as I watch Emily move about the bathroom grabbing ingredients to clean my shirt with. "Your really good at that." I comment lamely into the awkward air. "Did your mom really work at a Laundromat?"

Emily snorts out a laugh, shaking her head. "No." She says as she rings out the shirt. "She's a stay at home mom, who just knows her chiz."

At this I bite my lip to hold back my laugh, but a giggle still slips out. "Did you really just say chiz?" I asks, causing the brunette to realize how dirty that word really is.

A smile makes its way onto Emily's face as she shakes her head at my immature behavior. "I guess I did." She says with a shrug. She then tosses my shirt towards me. "There, it's as good as new."

I look at the shirt almost impressed. If you didn't see the situation occur before hand then you wouldn't have been able to tell that a stain was ever there. "Thanks." I mutter as I slip it on, letting out a shiver as a cold draft hits the damp shirt, sending a chill down my spine.

Emily lets out a sigh as she takes off her leather jacket and hands it over to me. I take it with great hesitation, and I guess Emily picks up on it. "I don't have cooties I swear...I got that shot in like the fourth grade." Emily says with a teasing smile.

I put the jacket on shaking my head at Emily. Even after I secure the jacket around me, I still notice how the awkward atmosphere still rings in the air. "Are you ever going to tell me why you did it?" I ask, even though I'm not really expecting an answer.

Emily stares at me for a moment, seeming lost in thought. Then a small smirk breaks out on her face and she gives a shrug. "I guess that's just one secrete that Alison Dilaurentis won't find out about."

I open my mouth to respond but Emily cuts me off by opening the door.

"I better find my ride...I think I've partied enough." She says exiting the bathroom.

I just stare after her in confusion. "What the hell just happened?" I say to myself.

-the next day-

"Who the hell is Emily?!" I ask demandingly as I barge into Mona's bedroom.

Mona lets out a groan as she turns over in her bed shielding her face away from me and the blinding morning sunlight.

"Mona!" I yell this time pulling the covers away from her body.

"Alison..." Mona whines. "It's 8:00 in the morning...on a Saturday. I have a killer hang-over and your asking me questions that requires me to think." She groans out while placing a pillow over her head.

"Well I would have known about this girl last night if you wouldn't have ditched me to go make out with whomever. Leaving me on my own for three hours." I say accusingly, placing a stern hand on my hip.

Mona finally lifts her head up from under the pillow, giving me a tired look. "Do I even get a last name." She asks with one eye open.

"Nope...all I got is a first name." I say with a shrug.

"Ali that's not much to go off of." Mona says with a frown. But my stare remains blank. Mona let's out a dramatic sigh and rolls her eyes. "I'll see what I can find out."

I give a triumph smirk and shrug my shoulders happily. "Thanks." I say placing my louveton shades over my eyes and turning to leave the room. "See you for lunch at 1." I call over my shoulders only to receive a groan in response.

See how all of this started? This is the moment where Emily fields just unexpectedly placed herself in my path and I...being the victim of this situation.. had no clue how to handle it-

 **Emily POV:**

Okay I'm going to stop her right there. Because this definitely wasn't the first encounter I've had with Alison Dilaurentis. And I definitely didn't start this feud between us. I can see that she's already got you believing I'm the villain. And that's just not the case...

So let me tell you my side of the story...

the real story...

Hi guys! Okay so this is my first story...well first time posting a story on her so please let me know what you think. Should I continue? If so I'll update once or twice a week. I have a lot of chapters lined up so just tell me what you think. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews they meant so much to me! It means you're giving this story an undeserved chance. So here's chapter two. I really hope you enjoy.**

 **Dilaurentis Must Die**

Episode 2: The Real Story

 **Emily's POV:**

I'm Emily Fields….and I'm the villain of this story.

I know….I know….I said I wasn't before, but the truth is I just wanted you to turn the page and get my side of the story.

…...I mean would you really continue to read this if there wasn't any arguments against her accusations?

See…..my point exactly.

So now, the truth.

And the truth is, most people wouldn't call me a villain….they would see me as a hero.

Especially if you were a victim of Alison Dilaurentis.

But I don't see it that way….

I mean, sure I single handedly ended the reign of Alison Dilaurentis….but I did something much more horrible to do it.

Things that would make the smile on Joker's face grow even bigger. (If that's even possible.)

So no….I don't see myself as the hero.

And neither does Alison.

I'm everything she says I am….and worse, because I know what I'm doing….or should I say was doing….and I continued to do it.

No I wasn't some evil monster who lured her in….

Correction.

I'm not the monster that she made me out to be….I'm nothing like that. But I guess it doesn't matter because a monster is still a monster in the end.

BUT no matter what she tells you, or what you take from this story….I'm no where near as bad as Alison Dilaurentis!

No one is as bad as Alison Dilaurentis!

And it's true to some extent….I mean yes I did seek her out, but the reason why I did is because SHE was the original monster in the story.

She was peer evil!

She destroyed lives,

Manipulated people,

She tortured Rosewood. And it became my mission to stop her. So I had to do it what I had to….become who I had to become.

I became the bitch everyone grew to hate, who blackmailed people to get information, who turned her back on her true friends.

I became another version of Alison, but I managed to do the impossible….

I broke Alison Dilaurentis heart.

And instead of becoming a legend like the plan predicted...I became a shadow of the old person I really was.

I lost myself and it was my fault.

The person I became wasn't just a monster but a stranger….And that's the worst kind.

But again, regardless of what I did and what happened, it all comes down to the WHY….and the WHY is Alison Dilaurentis.

And believe it or not, I didn't start this feud.

She did.

Confusing to follow? Ha you have no idea.

Because this story as it goes on gets more twisted with every word. So I advise you to pay close attention because even the slightest detail missed will leave you a step behind.

Even starting with the detail of how we first met can turn you on the wrong path.

Because believe it or not we didn't meet at some stupid stop light party….we met long before that.

Now here's our real first encounter.

\- 1 ½ year before-

"Emmy you better get up before you're late for school." I hear my mom yell up the stairs, assuming that I'm still sleeping.

"I'm already up mom." I say, walking out of the kitchen with an apple in my hand.

I woke up thirty minutes before my alarm went off just to make it to school early.

Overachiever I know.

"I'm going to head out early so I can stop by the library to study for my history test." I say moving past my mom, who's still looking up the stairs.

My mom finally spins around on her heels to face me, wearing a small smile on her face. "At least let me pack you a lunch." She says trying to slow me down.

"Already did." I say holding up a brown paper bag, (that contains a sandwich, banana, and a juice box) before slinging my backpack over my shoulder.

I see my mom's smile falter as she hurries behind me, while I move closer towards the door. "Well please be safe, and ride on the sidewalks, taking the streets is too dangerous." She says in a concerned tone.

"Taking the streets is quicker." I say turning on my heels to face my mom with a small laugh. "I don't have to worry about running over little old ladies with my scooter." I joke as I pick up said scooter, straddling the seat. I place my helmet on my head while offering my mom a small smile.

"Well still….be careful." I hear my mom say softly.

I just shake my head at her antics while I pull out of the driveway and onto the street. "Bye mom." I call over my shoulder as I disappear from sight.

I can still see her standing in the doorway watching me until she's no longer able to see me.

Okay now it's time for a brief history.

I was born and raised in Rosewood. In the same house, in the same neighborhood, for sixteen years. The same house my mom grew up, and her mother grew up in, and her mothers mothers….and so on and so forth. My dad and mom met while they were in high school (yes they were highschool sweethearts how romantic is that!) And they've been happily married ever since. Even when my dad followed his father's footsteps and joined the Marines, my mom stood by his side and supported him. If I'm ever lucky enough I'll have a love like theirs.

So I guess you can say that I've been here long enough to come to know this place like the back of my hand. That's why I fit in so perfectly. I know exactly where my place is in the hierarchy of this town and in high school.

And it damn sure ain't the top.

I mean who would actually follow a nobody?

I'm just a girl who wears glasses, because she can barely see her own fingertips.

A girl who can't even walk a straight line without falling.

A girl who wears clothes twice as big as her actual body size.

And a girl who saved up her money to buy a scooter instead of a car.

A girl who was completely invisible….just the way high school determined me to be.

The only thing I have going for me is swimming, and that's not even the most recognized sport at our school. So yeah pretty much I'm invisible….and I'm okay with it. As long as I'm not a target of Alison Dilaurentis and her flock.

I sigh to myself when I notice the school coming into view.

A ten minute ride on a scooter can really numb your butt.

And I guess looking ahead at my destination caused me to miss the fact that I was unconsciously drifting further into the middle of the street and a car was zooming right towards me.

So to say the least, I was scared shitless when I heard a loud horn along with the roar of an engine in my ear, would be an understatement.

Before I know it I'm practically ran off the road.

I let out a shriek and quickly steer my scooter onto the sidewalk, crashing it into a nearby bush. The impact caused me to flip frontwards off of the scooter and land soundly on my butt.

Luckily for me I land on something mildly soft. And I slightly praise whatever it was that broke my fall.

I let out a sigh while staring up into the clear blue sky, but my moment of relief is quickly ended when I hear the loud music and laughter, from the people inside the car that ran me off the road, drive by. When I peek up from behind the bush I notice one face out of all of them.

Alison Dilaurentis. She gives me a smug smile before loudly stating 'what a loser' I was.

What a bitch.

"Damn that was one nasty fall there Fields." I hear a deep voice say from above me.

I adjust my glasses as I look up to see my best friend Toby Cavanaugh standing over me with a goofy smirk on his face. "Shut up." I mutter.

Toby's smirk turns into a full blown grin as he offers me his hand to help me up. I take the hand offered to me and pull myself up.

After I'm up, I look down towards the soft thing that broke my fall. "Aww man." I whine disappointedly, as I pick up my now smashed brown bag. "That was my lunch."

"I hope you're not planning on still eating that." Toby says with a small laugh.

I turn to glare at him as I pick up my back pack. "Shut up." I say again, now bending to pick up my scooter before quickly making my way towards the school.

"Hey slow down, who the hell was in that car anyways?" Toby asks as he does a slight jog to catch up with me.

I'm not going to lie but I have an impressive speed walk. But I guess you can say I've had years of practice….you know….with dodging people in the hall and such.

"Who else drives a Porsche to school with the license plate that says 'Princess'" I ask sarcastically.

"Alison Dilaurentis." Toby says after a moment.

"No I thought it was principle Hackett." I reply sarcastically again.

Toby then lets out a low whistle in admiration. "Who knew Hackett was such a hot mama." he jokes back, before nudging me. "But seriously are you okay? That was a pretty nasty fall." He asks sincerely.

I let out a sigh as I nod my head. "Yeah I'm fine. But my sandwich isn't doing all to well…..if you can tell."I say with a shrug and a small smile.

Toby just laughs and takes the scooter from me, walking it towards the school himself.

Toby Cavanaugh….my best friend in the whole wide world. We've been best friends since 1st grade, after I pushed him off of the monkey bars then bribed him into silence with a snickers bar.

He's invisible...just like me….and he's surprisingly okay with that.

And the reason it's surprising is because of the family he comes from. The Marshall's/Cavanaugh's are one of the most powerful families in Rosewood. Probably third on the list, of course the Dilaurentis Family is number one in the poll, following behind is the Hastings. Though at the moment I'm not sure if the Hastings are now leading. Those two families always flip flop on the chart. Depending on sales or what not. I'm not really sure how these things work. Just understand that his family is very important.

But because of this he has a lot of pressure on him. And it's all because of his stepsister, Jenna Marshall, who is probably just as evil as Alison. She was on the rise to being the princess of Rosewood when Alison came out of nowhere and took her spotlight. Now she and several other students have fallen under the reigns of Alison's in-crowd just to remain relevant. It's sad really. But I guess I would rather not know how it feels to have Jenna Marshall walking around school with a crown on her head.

Because she's evil.

She also went through a period of being a "good" sister and decided to take Toby under her wings. She was...and I quote… "improving his status for the sake of the family." Let's just say me and Toby didn't hang out for almost a year because I was too much of a loser for him to associate with. It sucked. But during that "almost year" I was able to discover some things about myself.

I'm gay.

Yes you heard it….gay.

Like a big ole fat lesbian.

Like if I cry, a rainbow would appear after my tears.

How I discovered this you ask? Well like most teenage girls, when you hang around a guy all the time you naturally think you're destined to be together. Like in some fairytale land all best friends marry after the age fifteen when they discover that life wouldn't exist without the other person. I was sadly one of those people. I thought I was in love with Toby, so when he stopped hanging around me, I thought it broke my heart. I went into a small depression and refused to sleep, eat and talk to anyone. And by anyone I really just mean my mom, because outside of Toby she was the only friend I had.

Well as time went on I discovered that I didn't miss him as a potential love interest, I missed him because he was the only other companion I had. And as time went by, being on my own forced me to focus my time somewhere else. And that's where my love for swimming came in.

I fell in love with it. It started off as a way to just pass time. But then I got really good at it. If I wasn't at home reading a book, then I was at the pool swimming laps. It gave me this undeniable happiness, I found myself more eager than I had ever been in my whole life.

And then I soon realized why.

The locker room.

I really enjoyed being in the locker room. Now don't think of me a some perv, because I'm not. Because at the time I genuinely thought I was just comparing my body to the other girls, but as time went on I realized I just liked to look at their bodies.

There's nothing wrong with that.

And as soon as I realized this I stopped. But it help me discover why I enjoyed watching Beyonce so much.

I was so gay for her.

But not just for her….for girls in general. Although I never got to test this theory….

Well back to the story at hand.

"Hey did you hear about that Paige McCullers girl?" Toby asks breaking me out of my slight daze.

"What?" I asks turning my attention towards him.

"I said did you hear about Paige McCullers?" Toby continues. "There's a rumor going around that she was spying on the girls in the locker room, now there's a petition going around school to get her kicked off of all the sport teams she's currently on."

My breath hitches in my throat. This doesn't goes unnoticed by Toby who frowns in concern and places a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asks concerned.

"Uh yeah.." I say nodding my head. "Uh….how did everyone find out about her...uh...peeping?" I ask slightly confused.

Toby scoffs out a laugh. "How else? The queen of rumors herself. Alison told everyone that Paige was watching her while she was dressing for gym class. She told everyone to be aware of the local peeping-Tom and that she should dress in the boy's locker room if she couldn't control her 'wondering eyes'." Toby says shaking his head in mild disgust.

what a bitch….

"So she's gay?" I inquire.

Toby just nods his head "Yup." He says popping the 'p' at the end of the word. "The rumor forced the poor girl out the closet."

"And uh….what do you think about that?" I ask. I clear my throat a little before continuing, hoping he doesn't notice my stuttering. "About Paige being gay?"

Toby doesn't respond right away. He just moves ahead as we slowly enter onto school grounds. "It doesn't bother me none." He says with a shrug. "I mean she's not my type, so I'm not disappointed that I don't have a shot with her. And she's not hot enough to date all the hot babes, so she's not really a threat." He says with a cheesy smile.

I don't know why but that causes so much relief throughout my body. Like maybe if he can accept her, he could accept me when I come out.

I release a breath I never realized I was holding as I roll my eyes at him, slightly shoving his shoulder. "You're an ass."

"But I'm your ass." He says his grin growing wider.

"Please don't let those words fall out of your mouth ever again." I joke as I take the scooter away from him to chain it up to the bicycle rack.

"What? I can't be your ass?" Toby ask playfully. "I mean it`s soft and muscular all at the same time. That's definitely the description of me." He says giving my butt a small pinch.

"You're so disgusting." I laugh out shoving his hand away from me.

This is why he's my best friend. He's an amazing guy and a wonderful human being. If I wasn't gay I would definitely date him.

Just as we finish at our lockers the bell rings, signalling us to head to class. "Ugh." Toby groans slamming his locker shut. "I guess that's our cue." he says turning to face me. "You want me to walk you to class?" he asks.

I offer him a small smile then shake my head. "Nah. I think I can manage."I say robotically.

This is something that Toby says everyday, before every study hour just to make sure I'm okay. This became our tradition after one day catching me cornered in the hallway by some senior guy trying to put the moves on me. Toby broke his nose and ever since then he's been like my mini body guard.

It's really heartwarming but it can be very annoying.

"Good." Toby says with a smirk. "Because if I'm late again for this class I'll be in detention for the rest of my life." he says moving past me. "Hey I have something to tell you later on...remind me at lunch?" he says moving backwards.

I frown at this. "You know you really can't just drop that type of bomb on someone when you're leaving." I call after him.

Toby just shrugs with a small smile as he disappears down the hall.

I let out a sigh as I make my way towards my class.

But just as I'm about to round the corner to my classroom…..

"That bitch is really starting to piss me off!" I hear a voice say.

I stop in my tracks and lean against the wall. Trying not to interrupt their conversation….but totally eavesdropping.

"Hanna calm down." A different voice says.

"Calm down? Calm down! She just outed that poor girl. And you want me to calm down." The girl name Hanna yells.

"Well what do you want us to do about it?" the voice asks tiredly.

"I say we march over there and kick her ass!" Hanna states angrily.

"Oh yeah? And what good will that do?" The same voice responds. "She has secretes on all of us. If we even lift a finger against her she'll be outing us as well." the voice concludes.

"Spencer's right." I hear a third voice chimes in. "There's nothing we can do. Every plan we've had has failed against us. She's always five steps ahead of us."

"Well I say we go back to plan A. Find someone to dethrone her." Hanna says defiantly.

The Spencer girl scoff. "Yeah, just like when we sent in Sydney, Sarah, and Shana. Now they're all apart of her flock and calls us losers every chance they get."

"Well stop finding girls that start with the letter 'S' and maybe we'll get somewhere." Hanna argues back.

"I hardly think that has anything to do with it." Spencer says in a monotoned voice.

"Well something has to work. I can't take it anymore." Hanna says frustratedly.

"Hanna-"

"No Aria!" Hanna says cutting her off. "Either we figure it out or I will." And at that moment like the loser I am, I mistakenly drop my books on the ground.

"Who's there?" I hear that Hanna chick call out.

I silently curse myself as I quickly bend down to pick up my belongings.

I let out a groan as I stand up, knowing I have to face the music at some point because this is the only route to my class.

I muster up all the courage I have to turn the corner, and I'm greeted with three faces staring back at me. One in fear….the other one in curiosity...and the last one in anger. I just offer them all a small smile as I push my glasses up my nose. "Hi." I say with a small wave.

The blonde haired girl just rolls her eyes and crosses her arms across her chest. "Come on guys it's no one important. Our secret meeting is safe." I recognized the voice as Hanna's.

The taller brunette girl just lets out a sigh. "Let's just get to class before we all end up in detention." I recognize the voice as Spencer's.

All three girls shut their lockers then start moving towards their class. The shorter one who has to be Aria, gives me an apologetic smile, before they disappear around the corner.

No one important...ouch.

After that, school went relatively the same.

Boring classes, and a lot of pop quizzes.

Oh and let's not forget the history test that I most likely failed because I didn't have time to study this morning because of my run in with Alison and her flock…

But other than that….the usual, so it was nothing I couldn't handle.

I did manage to work up an appetite and I was looking forward to lunch.

…..well until I realized that my lunch was ruined from my scooter accident this morning.

I really mean it when I say Alison Dilaurentis is an evil bitch….

"Fuck." I mutter to myself as I dig through my locker hoping to find some loose change in there.

When I pull out a five dollar bill, I internally happy dance, because now I can buy an entire new meal for lunch. But at the time of my slight victory, I didn't notice that the entire hallway had grown silent.

Or that there is a big gaping runway in the middle of it to make room for someone, or should I say someones.

I turned from my locker preparing to step forward when I'm pulled back by a firm hand on my arm, causing my back to crash into the locker. When I look towards the culprit I see Lucas Gottesman giving me a warning look. That's when I look towards the center of the hallway, noticing Alison Dilaurentis and her flock of birds following behind her. Not even sparing us onlookers a glance.

It was that moment I realized I almost ran into her….and let me just say that would have been bad business.

I would hate to see the day that a poor soul actually does it.

"Thank you." I say profusely once the hallway returns to normal, after the departure of the 'it' crew.

"Don't mention it." Lucas says with a small shrug. "Us normal folks have to look out for each other." he says with a smile before he moves towards the lunch room.

Ain't that the truth…

"Guess you decided not to eat butt lunch." Toby says as he appears next to me in lunch line.

"I thought I told you to never mention my butt again." I threaten lightly.

"I can't help it...it's so cute." Toby says pinching me on the cheek.

I just push his hand away. "Stop asswhole….I tossed the lunch because I found five bucks in my locker." I say, my excitement returning, as I show off my new bill.

"I think that's my five bucks." Toby says frowning in thought.

I just shrug. "Your five dollars...my five dollars….same thing."

Toby glares at me before pushing me forward in line, causing me to lightly bump into someone. "Shit...sorry." I apologize lamely.

I'm sure a fearful look is gracing my face.

A blond haired girl just turns back to look over her shoulder offering me a small smile. "It's cool. Don't worry about it." She says sweetly before moving up in line to take her lunch.

I just nod dumbly, with my jaw slightly open.

Because let me tell you, this girl is gorgeous. She has pink highlights in her hair, a killer smile and small dimples. And her eyes are a piercing familiar blue eyes but I've never seen her around school before.

So why does she look so familiar?

"Emily? Are you okay?" Toby asks, pulling me out of my daze.

"Yeah I'm fine." I say moving forward in line.

The lunch lady slaps down a pizza on my plate, and I give her a small appreciative smile before taking the rest of my lunch and turning to walk towards the small table located in the back of the cafeteria, with Toby following behind me. "So what did you have to tell me?" I asks when I sit down.

Toby just sits across from me like normal. "You don't waste time do you?" He asks jokingly.

"I've been thinking about it for a while." I say with a shrug while taking a bite of my pizza.

"Well…." Toby starts while taking a small sip from his water bottle. "As you know my grandpa has been sick for the past few weeks. We think it's his time to go soon."

I let out a small breath before reaching across the table, placing my hand over his giving it a small squeeze.

"It's fine" Toby says fanning me off. But I know he's really hurting about it no matter how much he fakes it. "But my mom thinks it's a good idea if I go down there for a few months…..say my last goodbyes." Toby says with a shrug.

"Oh." I say with a shrug. "When do you leave?" I ask sadly.

"Tonight." he says quietly. "It's really last minute. I was going to wait until tomorrow night, but my parents are really pressing for time." Toby says apologetically.

And just like that the world stops spinning and floats into the dark abyss of outer space. And a black hole opens and sucks it inside.

"Em?" Toby calls out softly to regain my attention.

"How long are you going to be gone?" I ask swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Until January." Toby offers with a sympathetic look.

"That's almost five months Toby! Why didn't you tell me ahead of time?" I asks angrily.

"I didn't know how." he says desperately. "I wanted to, I mean really wanted too….but every time I tried I just physically couldn't do it."

"God Toby!" I say as tears fill my eyes. "What about school?" I ask wiping the tears from my cheeks.

"My parents enrolled me into a small high school down there just for the time being. They know about my situation and my temporary stay." he says, before reaching across the table to take her hand in his. "I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you." he say remorsefully.

I give him a watery smile before giving a shrug. "It's fine. I understand. I really hope your grandpa will make out okay." I say sincerely.

"Thanks Em." Toby says gratefully. "I'm really going to miss you." he adds sadly.

I choke out a laugh as I move my glasses up to wipe my tears. "Gosh, you're being a sap. But I am going to miss you too." I say sadly as well.

I couldn't believe it. My best friend was leaving me for four months. It was really breaking my heart, just like the time he stopped hanging out with me. But I guess this time was different because he was coming back. It just still sucked altogether. I had to make lunch as less awkward as possible, so we made small talk. He told me about his classes and I told him about the conversation I overheard in the hall, I just left out the names. By the ending of lunch I wasn't sad anymore, I was furious. I didn't know how I was going to survive the beginning of sophomore year without him. But I couldn't show it. I had to remain positive.

For his sake.

The bell signals, ending the lunch hour and Toby and I both stand up at the same time.

"Do you want me to walk you to class?" he offers with a sheepish smile.

I give him a small smile in return but shake my head no. "Nah. I think I can manage."

"Good." Toby says half heartedly. "I"ll stop by after your swim practice to say goodbye."

I just nod as I watch him walk away.

I let out a sigh then turn to head to class, in the process bumping into someone again causing me to drop my glasses on the floor.

"Sorry." I quickly say while bending down to find my glasses.

"With the strong prescription in those things you would think it would be easy for you to watch where you're going."

At the sound of that voice I feel a cold rush chill my bones. I slowly look up, only to be looking into the eyes of the princess of Rosewood herself Alison Dilaurentis.

"Sorry…" I mutter again, this time physically shaking as I place my glasses back on my face.

At this point avoiding a scene is completely out of the question, because as of now the entire lunch room is staring at us in interest.

Alison smirk grows as she notices the fear in my eyes. "I heard you the first time sweetie. Doesn't mean I except." she says tilting her head to the side.

Avoiding a scene would be impossible anyway because it's now obvious that's exactly what she intends to create.

"Hey Alison isn't that the girl on the scooter today?" Noel Khan, the most popular guy in school says.

He's also the biggest dick there ever was to walk the school halls.

Alison and her flunkies begin laughing and nodding their heads in recognition. "I almost didn't recognize you scooter girl. Maybe you should turn around and jump into a bush….that might jog my memory." Alison says with a smirk, causing her followers to laugh again.

I stand tall until I'm eye level with her, but refuse to make eye contact with Alison. I just nod my head as I stare at my feet.

"Maybe next time you see me coming you should continue to jump out of my way….or just like this morning I won't have a problem running you over." Alison says with a sarcastic sweet smile on her face. Then moves past me bumping my shoulder hard with her own.

Bitch.

Just then I hear the entire lunch room gasps and Alison in her crew stops in their track.

Please tell me I didn't just say that out loud.

"What did you just call me?!" Alison asks through gritted teeth as she turns around to face me.

Fuck! I can't believe I just said that out loud.

I look around the cafeteria noticing all of the faces staring at me in shock, some in encouragement, but most in sympathy.

I let out a deep breath as I turn to make eye contact with Alison and her flunkies. "I uh- uh." I stutter out not sure what to say.

Alison rolls her eyes in annoyance, placing her hand on her hips. "Spit it out loser!"

God she really is such a bitch, I think as my eyes flare up and my anger boils. "I said you're a bitch!" I say strongly but it quickly dissipates when I see the fire in Alison eyes. "W-well not a bitch...but y-you were being a bitch...not that you are one every day." I quickly corrects.

Alison smirks at my lapse in confidence as she steps forwards into my personal space. "You know scooter girl. I'm actually proud of you...it takes guts to say what you just said." Alison says surprising the crowd, her own followers included.

"I mean being a nobody trying to challenge a somebody must have took some serious guts. I'm surprised you didn't shit your pants…" Alison says in faux sympathy. "Well did you...shit your pants?" Alison asks causing some laughter from the onlookers. Alison's smile turns into a smirk.

"You seem like a nice girl...so I'm going to give you a break. Maybe when you fell into that bush earlier you hit your head. You should probably go and see a nurse." Alison says sarcastically sweet. "But the next time I see your face again….well let's just say you won't just transfer schools...you'll be leaving the country." Alison threatens. "Got it!" she says the ending more firmly.

I nod my head vigorously, accepting the offer given to me.

"Good." Alison says with a sweet smile before turning on her heels with her flunkies right on her tail.

The entire lunch room is silent until she leaves, then a buzz of whispers erupts loud enough to be considered yelling.

I look around the lunchroom to see everyone staring at me. I also recognize the blonde haired girl from the lunch line, who's now offering me a sympathetic smile. But I don't return it. Instead I take the opportunity to bolt out of the cafeteria and into the girls bathroom hiding in the last stall.

Unbeknownst to me, at the time, three girls set in the back of the cafeteria watching me in slight interest with similar looks on their faces.

I'm such an idiot.

I should have known standing up to Alison Dilaurentis would end badly. Now not only am I going to be alone for four months I'm going to have to hide my face. This sucks.

Sitting in self deprecation, I failed to hear the sound of the bell signaling that classes has just begun and I was now late.

"Detention." my math teacher says the second I walk into class, handing me a pink slip as I walk past.

I take the sheet of paper with a sigh as I move to my assigned seat in the middle of the room, but close to the window.

I set my belongings down on the table as I slouch down in the chair, praying for it to swallow me whole.

"Okay class we'll continue to work on the problems assigned for homework last night. Please take them out so we can review." the math teacher says. Walking to stand in front of the board.

"Psst!" I hear someone say behind me before I feel a pencil jab me in the shoulder.

I turn around to come face to face with Andrew Campbell, wearing a dimpled smile.

I raise my eye questioning, waiting on him to explain why he poked me. When he doesn't respond right away I have to refrain from rolling my eyes. "Yes." I whisper.

"I just wanted to let you know that what you did in the cafeteria to Alison was really cool." he says in slight admiration. "I've never seen anyone be that brave before."

What he calls brave I call foolish….but to each it's own right.

"Uh….thanks." I mutter, a slight blush appearing on my face from embarrassment at being called out on the incident.

But he doesn't seem to notice as he smiles and leans back in his chair.

Was that weird or was it just me?

"Miss Fields maybe you can tell us the answer to number 4." the teacher says calling my attention back to the front of the class.

I swivel in the chair, turning to face the front and notice all eyes staring at me.

"Uh...negative 6." I say with uncertainty.

"Good, that's correct. But maybe you shouldn't spend your time searching for the answers on Mr. Campbell's face." he points out embarrassingly.

I sink deeper in my chair as the class snickers.

Please swallow me whole.

For the first time in my life I have just received a detention slip. This day has started off so horrible that I'm debating whether or not just ask my mom to homeschool me for the rest of the year. First I bust my scooter, then I find out my best friend is moving for four months, I get my ass handed to me by Alison Dilaurentis, I receive my first detention ever, and now I'm going to be late for swim practice…..could this day get any worse?

"I want you to want me…..I need you to need me…."

I hear a voice singing as I walk into the library where detention is held.

I smile to myself when I see the same blonde haired girl from the cafeteria drumming against the table with two pencils in her hand. Completely obliviously to my presence.

"I'm begging you to beg me….I'll shine up the old brown shoes-" the blonde haired girl starts but immediately stops singing, almost falling out her chair when she notices me staring at her in amusement. "Shit.." she says standing up, dusting imaginary dirt off herself. "I didn't see you there."

I give her a small smile and a shrug. "Most people don't"

The blonde haired girl just offers me a sympathetic smile. "I didn't mean it like that." she says gesturing towards her iPod. "I was just caught up in-"

"Cheap trick." I finishes for her. "You can't really hum along to cheap trick."

"Yeah...once you start, you're obligated to just belt it out." The girl says with a smile. "Anyways. What are you doing here?"

"I have detention." I say with a shrug.

"Detention doesn't start for almost another 30 minutes." the blonde says in a confused voice.

Idiot.

"Oh...well it's detention. I didn't want to miss a minute of being….detained." I offered lamely.

The blonde haired girl just snorts. "Right." she says gathering her things. "Hey…" she says staring at me for a moment. "You're the girl who stood up to Alison in the cafeteria." she concludes.

Oh god not her too.

"I would hardly call it standing up….more like getting knocked down then stumped on." I say with a small laugh.

"Well whatever you call it, it was impressive." the blonde haired girl offers.

"Hmm I'm surprised to hear you say that. Most people….if not want to date her….want to be her. With her dashing good looks and all." I tease slightly.

"I'd like to think I inherited some of those good look genes myself." The blonde says with a smile.

I frown in confusion for a moment before realization dawns on me. "You're Alison's sister?...holy shit." I say in shock.

"I hope that's holy shit 'you're just as good looking'...and not holy shit 'were you dropped on your face as a baby?'" the blonde haired girl jokes.

"No-no...you're definitely beautiful.-I-I mean…" my face flushes red at my tongue slip as I look down avoiding eye contact.

The blonde haired girl just stares at me in amusement. "Thanks. your not so bad yourself." she says with a wink causing me to blush even further. "I'm CeCe by the way."

"Emily…" I squeak out, still trying to calm my reddening face.

"Well I'll let you get back to it….enjoy your detention." CeCe says with a slight laugh before exiting the room.

I just let out a sigh, slouching down in my chair even more.

Again could this day get any worse?

I quickly rush into the pool area only to see the girl's exiting the room.

I missed practice.

This day just got worse.

"Fields." Coach Fulton says as she approaches me. "Explain yourself." she stated angrily.

"I am so sorry coach! I had detention but it ran late because my detention teacher showed up 40 minutes late and he made me stay-" I start but I'm cut off by a stern look. "I'm really sorry coach." I say sheepishly.

Coach Fulton lets out a sigh. "You're a good kid Fields….don't let it happen again." she says moving to leave the pool area as well.

"Hey coach?" I call out timidly. "Mind if I stay for an extra hour? Get some laps in?" I asks softly.

"Sure." Coach Fulton says tossing me a set of keys. "Just lock up before you leave and return them to my office first thing tomorrow morning." she says with a small smile before exiting.

I smile gratefully and don't waste anytime jumping into the pool.

Time for some R&R.

I know I've stated that the locker room was why I fell in love with swimming but I want to just clarify and say that being in the water is why I truly stayed committed to swimming.

Every time I dive through the water….all my problems just melt away. I become a completely different person. And the not so confident Emily Fields becomes the most confident person in the world. And if you were going up against me in the water….well just hope you never have too.

I step out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my body, while quickly towel drying my hair as I hum lightly to myself.

That's just what I needed, a nice swim to take my mind off of today's terrible events.

It really helped me clarify my thoughts-

*crash*

What the hell was that?

*bang*

There it is again.

Is someone in here with me….?

Shit I've watched way too many scary movies to go out like this. I grab my hairbrush, clenching it in my fist, hoping to use it as a weapon if necessary. Looking around the empty locker room I began to grow even more worried when no one appears.

"Who`s there?" I call out. When no one shows up I let out a deep breath in relief.

I was certain someone was there….

Maybe I'm just hearing things.

I arrive home just in time to see Toby sitting on my porch with a small frown on his face.

"You're an hour late. I've been waiting here since five o'clock." Toby says softly.

"I know. I got detention and had to stay after to swim." I say. "Sorry." I say sheepishly while walking to stand in front of him.

"I heard about what happened in the lunchroom." Toby says standing up, so he's now eye level with me. "Sorry I left you there to deal with that alone." he says sincerely.

"It's fine." I say moving to his side preparing to sit down. "It was nothing that you could have done...it was my big mouth that got me in trouble."

"I know...but still." he says with a shrug.

An awkward silence falls between us as we both sit down on the porch steps.

"So this is it huh?" I ask after a moment.

"Only for a few months." Toby responds quickly.

"Yeah." I breathe out.

Silence surrounds us as we both stare ahead. Both of us enjoying the others presence for one last time. Neither of us speaking because we both understand that taking this time is more important than filling it with mindless chatter.

I guess this is the time in the story where I reflect on our friendship with a montage of memories, from the monkey bars all the way untill the time he pinched my butt in the lunch line.

But I can't do that.

My mind is blank and my heart hurts.

And just as predicted the moment is ruined by three simple words.

"I should go." Toby says finally turning to look at me.

I know but I don't want you to.

I don't say this out loud at the risk of making him feel even worse. So I just nod my head in agreement before both of us stand at the same time, wrapping our arms tightly around each other.

"I'll miss you." Toby whispers in my ear.

This cause a lump to form in my throat and I try desperately to swallow it. "I'll miss you too." I say squeezing him tighter.

"Well." Toby says pulling away. "I should get going. My mom is waiting in the car." he says nodding over to the car. "See ya." he says offering me a smile before getting into the car.

I watch him leave, willing myself not to cry.

He's coming back. I remind myself as I watch the car drive off.

I let out a deep breath before walking into the house. My mom is sitting at the kitchen table, when she hears me walk in, she looks up offering me a sympathetic smile, which I return half-heartedly as I ascend the stairs to my bedroom.

I shut my bedroom door and flop backwards on my bed.

This day has been the worst day ever.

And if the rest of the year goes like this….I don't see how I'm going to survive high school.

Maybe I really should ask my mom to homeschool me, because honestly I can't see how it's going to get any better.

I guess the only thing that's comforting about today is the tomorrow no one will remember what happened between me and Alison today.

I'll be just another face in the crowd, and a new story about Alison Dilaurentis will float around school, erasing this one from the memories of the gossipers.

Maybe years from now when they talk about 'Alison the great', It'll become some legend, that a 'no one' challenged 'thee one'.

The only comforting thing about that is no one will remember my name, or who I was for the matter.

The perks of being invisible.

*Knock**knock*

Well there goes my peace and serenity.

"Emmy." I hear my mom call out while knocking on the door again, before entering my room. "Someone's at the door for you."

I frown at this, then sit up on my bed. "What?"

"You have company." she says this time before disappearing down the hall and into her room.

Did Toby forget something?

I get up and make my way downstairs. My eyes widen in surprise when I see a familiar blonde standing in my doorway, with two brunettes standing behind her with nervous looks.

"Uh…." I start only to be cut off by Hanna.

"You know….when I saw you stand up to Alison Dilaurentis earlier, I thought….hmmm this girl has potential." Hanna says folding her arms across her chest. "But then I saw you in your swimsuit, and without those dorky glasses….and then I knew we found the right girl." Hanna says with a small smirk.

I frown in confusion. "You were the noise in the locker room?" I ask as realization dawns on me.

"Guilty as charged." Hanna says with a shrug.

I nod my head still not understanding "And can I ask why were you spying on me?"

"We need your help." Aria says stepping in to help Hanna.

I just frown in confusion waiting for them to clarify.

"We want you to help us kill Alison Dilaurentis." says Hanna.

"Metaphorically speaking." Spencer quickly adds on.

"Uh ….and **what** exactly do you want me to do?" I asks nervously.

"We want you to be the girl to do it." Hanna says. "You're the one who's going to take her down."

Okay so this day just went from very bad….to kind of weird?

 **So that was chapter 2. Let me know what you think of it. Was it disappointing? Was it okay? I would love to hear your feedback. And again thank you for the ones who favorited and commented, that really made my life!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay. I officially suck. I'm sorry for not updating these past few weeks. I got caught up in this epidemic called laziness, I promise to never let it happen again. I hope you enjoy. I'm always nervous on your reactions. I really hope you like it, and even if you don't please review and tell me what you think even if it's just a thumbs up. Any feedback is helpful, but no crude comments. Thank you!**

 **Alison Dilaurentis Must Die**

 **Episode 3: The Plan.**

Aria Montgomery.

Probably the most artistic girl in the entire school. She stands about 5'2, short stylish hair with a unique style of dress. She's the president of the art club, drama club, and the 'Active for Animals' club. She's 100% Vegan and she lets it be known on multiple occasions. She's protested at many animal rights events, she's even been arrested for some sit in's. She's the reason we changed our mascot from the Wild Bobcats to the Prancing Cats, all because they were indigenous species.

Ha, the Prancing Cats.

That's sure to really get us rowelled up at the pep rallies (Sarcasm implied.)

She was the third edition to team Alison, moving here last year from Iceland. I suppose Alison loved her unique personality and decided to add her to the group.

You see Alison was the leader of the three, before she decided to leave them and become one of Mona's followers; eventually dethroning Mona herself to become the most popular girl in school.

Sucks to be Mona right.

But never mind that, back to Aria. You see Alison has thing about secretes. She absolutely loves them. She used that to keep the girls closer together. She would get them to tell her all their secrets, then use it against them. And what does this have to do with Aria you ask...well let's just say that Aria had a nice big juicy secret herself.

And his name is Mr. Fitz…..or as Aria would like to call him Ezra aka known as her boyfriend but better known as our English teacher.

Are you understanding now?

Yes Aria is currently dating our English professor and Alison knows all about it. But instead of telling the entire school, Alison just uses it to get Aria to do her bidding.

Peer evil I tell ya.

Spencer Hastings.

The smartest girl in school. Beautiful wavy brunette hair, stands about 5'7. President of the debate team, chess team, the decathlon team, and pretty much all things academic she has a hand in. She's also the captain of the Field Hockey team. She volunteers as a tutor at an elementary school. Yes the girl runs a busy schedule...at the same time as maintaining the highest GPA in our grade. Can you say Ivy league material. She was the second edition to the team. Meeting up with Alison and Hanna her 7th grade year.

What's her secret you ask?

Well in order for Spencer to keep herself...attentive….for all those obligations, she takes medical enhancers. Or in other words "Speed." It keeps her focus for school and helps her maintain that winning smile that all her teachers have grown to love. Apparently Alison caught her popping some pills one night at a sleepover and ever since then Alison has held it over her head. Says she's waiting on the right time to use it.

Again peer evil.

And last but not least Hanna Marin.

She's probably one of the most stylish girls to ever grace rosewood with their presence. She's a fashionista, with brilliant blue eyes, blonde hair and a smile with dimples so cute that even the sanest man will turn well...insane. She's on the cheerleading squad and the school's dance team. She literally dates all the hottest guys. Not to mention she's the sweetest girl ever….just not all there up top. She was Alison's best friend since they were in diapers.

What's her secret?

Well no one knows.

She refuses to talk about it. But whatever happened between the two caused some really bad tension. Hanna is obsessed with her. Whether it be destroying her or what she was wearing. It's actually pretty suspicious.

Now back to the story at hand.

"Okay so you want me to do what exactly?" I ask to further clarify my confusion.

Hanna rolls her eyes at me as she explains for the umpteenth time the plan. "We want you to help us dethrone Alison Dilaurentis by becoming the most popular girl in school." she says flopping down on my bed lazily.

"But why me?" I ask confused.

"Look." Hanna says sitting up on my bed. "With the rest of us she has too much dirt, she'll shut us down in a minute...but your like the Switz you're neutered."

"It's neutral." Spencer says stepping in correcting her. "And you're the only one at the school who can actual do this. You're quiet enough to not be recognizable and your hot enough to be instantly envied." Spencer says without turning to look at me as she surveyed the various trophies on my bookshelf.

Good thing she paid little attention to me, because she definitely would have missed the blush coating my cheeks.

Me? Hot? Yeah...right.

They obviously have the wrong girl.

I don't know what girl Hanna was spying on in that locker room but it definitely wasn't me. I mean yeah I'm quiet but I'm definitely not hot.

"Look Emily, obviously you don't have to do this...the choice is yours. But if you do decide to help us, we'd greatly appreciate it." Aria says, coming in as my rescue.

"Uh yes she does!" Hanna jumps in.

"Han!" Spencer says giving her a look warning look.

"I don't care Spencer! I'm sick of Alison's shit and I'm sure she is too! We need to deal with this once and for all!" Hanna retorts back.

The room goes silent.

And as much as I would hate to admit it she's right.

We have to end the reign of Alison Dilaurentis.

And I guess it's now or never.

Spencer lets out a sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Han-"

"No she's right Spencer." I cut in.

Hanna was right and so was Aria was right, the choice is mine and I'm choosing to help. It's the least I could do.

"She is?" Spencer asks in a confused voice. And Aria just looks curious, while Hanna looks proud of herself.

"I mean yeah..." I say timidly. "I mean she's sort of right. Alison's a monster and we need to take her down. And if I'm the only one who can do it..." I trail off with a shrug.

I guess it's up to me.

"But I don't know what to do! I mean yes I'm quiet and a nobody...but I'm not hot!" I exclaim incredulously.

Hanna just lets out a scoff and rolls her eyes. And Spencer just gives me a disbelieving look. But it's Aria who gives me a soft smile shaking her head.

"Seriously Emily, you're gorgeous. And with Hanna's popular connections and Spencer's brains, and my artistic style...you'll be the hottest girl in school in no time." Aria says with that same sweet smile.

"And not only that, we both know you have a deep connection with the geeks of Rosewood high, you all look out for each other. We need to spark a revolution from the ground up, and we need someone on the inside of the crowd to do it, because they'll believe us" she says motioning to herself, Spencer and Aria. "But they'll follow you. They trust you." She concludes.

I frown for a moment in thought before giving a sigh. "How do you know that this will work? I mean didn't you say that you've tried this with three other girls? Didn't they all go rogue?"

Hanna let's out a scoff before mumbling something about 'those back stabbing whores.'

"Yeah, but those girls were loners and desperate for popularity. The second they had the opportunity they took it. But you're different, I've seen you socializing with Toby, and swimming, and just being you. You're not after popularity, you just want to be yourself. That's why you're perfect because you won't have to work for it, it will come natural to you." Spencer says passionately.

God, this is all too much.

I mean they're putting all their eggs in my basket what if I screw up?

What if I don't become popular?

What if Alison catches on and kills me before I even get the chance?

"If we pull this off...you'll be a legend. And everyone will remember you as the girl who liberated the school from Alison Dilaurentis." Hanna says in place of my silence.

I guess those are things that we'll have to risk.

"Okay. I'll do it."

-The next morning-

I wake up 10 minutes before my alarm goes off. Just staring at my ceiling.

Today is the day that we start our new mission. I'm supposed to meet up with the girls during lunch time and we're supposed to devise a plan to take down Alison. But until then I have to get through the day...

Yippie! (Sarcasm implied)

"Hey Em you up?" I hear my mom ask through the door.

I let out a small groan before rolling on my side to face my nightstand, I grab my glasses and place them on my face before I yell for her to "come in."

"Wow. I think this is the first time since school begin that you've been lounging around without being ready." She jokes as she enters my room almost timidly.

I just shrug and stare at my ceiling. "Well this is the first time I've ever found no motivation for me to get out of bed."

My mom just gives me a sympathetic look as she moves to sit on the edge of my bed. "I'm really sorry about Toby leaving. I know how much you cared about him." She says placing her hands over mine.

I give another shrug without responding.

Not to be an asshole, I just didn't know what to say.

"But hey it looks like you've made some new friends." my mom says trying to cheer me up.

I let out a scoff and an eye roll. "Those girls are not my friends."

"Oh." She says curiously. "Then who are they?" She asks scooting closer to me on the bed.

I open my mouth to respond but then I stop.

I can't tell my mom our plan!

She'd have several heart attacks before she grounds me for 3 years.

She'd be disappointed. And we can't have that. Friendship is very important to her, and even if they aren't your friends you are to treat people with respect, and dignity.

Her motto is, if we can't help the people around us then the least we do is try not to hurt them.

So...of course I lie.

"Well they...we...we're working on a science project together. They came by to use my lecture notes." I lie easily, well as easily as I can.

My mom stares at me for a moment, as if she's trying to read me, before she just nods her head in understanding. "Well... they seem like sweet girls to me." She says standing up from my bed. "Now get up and get dressed. We wouldn't want you to be late to school."

I let out a groan as a toss back the covers. "Oh wait mom, do you think I can get a lift to school?"

My mom gives me a puzzled look. "Why can't you take your scooter?" She asks confused.

"Uh...I had a small accident yesterday, so it's a little banged up." I say with a shrug.

Her eyes widen in horror as she quickly walks over towards me. "Oh my gosh sweetie were you hurt." She asks placing her hand over my forehead.

I let out a small laugh at her over dramatic response. "Yes mom I'm fine. But my scooters not. Hence the reason I need a ride."

"Well you can take the car today. I don't have any shopping to get done so it's just sitting in the garage." She offers.

I give a triumph smile. Good, today is a big day and if things go wrong I'll need a car to flee the scene and I don't want to have to rely on my mom to pick me up.

"Now get dressed." She says playfully stern.

"Yes captain." I say giving her a mock salute as she exits my room shaking her head with a smile on her face.

Great.

I guess the day is starting off pretty good. And that's a really good sign.

It means the odds might be in our favor today.

Maybe Alison Dilaurentis forgot about me and I can now show my face in school.

And if that doesn't happen, maybe our plan will work and I can help end the reign of Alison.

Either way it's a win win for me.

-at school-

I pull into the parking lot of the school and look around for an empty spot.

I only ever drive my scooter to school so I have no idea where to park and how long it'll take me to find a good one.

But as luck would have it I spot a park in the first lot, right by the door.

I guess this is a good day.

But right as pull in Lucas Gottesman jumps right in front of me, causing me to slam on my breaks.

What the hell is his problem?

"What the hell is my problem?" He asks confusedly. "What the hell is your problem? Like seriously do you have a death wish?!"

I really need to learn to stop speaking out loud.

"What are you talking about?" I ask confused.

"This is Alison's parking spot. She parks here everyday, hence the reason it's vacant. And I know you two have some sort of beef going on but do you really want her to get the football team to tip your car over? Because that's exactly what she did to the last guy who parked in her spot." He says with a pointed look on his face.

Yikes that would have been a disaster.

I let out a sigh, looking around before I find one. I then reverse the car into a park adjacent from hers.

You could say another crisis avoided. Thanks to Lucas Gottesman.

I let out another sigh and exit the vehicle with Lucas standing at my door waiting for me.

"Sorry, I honestly didn't know she parks there. I don't really want to start a feud with Alison. I just happened to always be in the right place at the wrong time." I say placing my bag over my shoulder.

I see Lucas let out a breath of relief. "Good. Because that is one dangerous game to play." He says with a smile.

"And I should thank you...you seem to always be there when I need you, or better yet when I'm walking into Alison's territory." I say appreciatively, as we start walking towards the building.

Lucas gives me a shrug and waves me off. "Like I said we have to look out for each other."

I nod my head in agreement at this. We do have to look out for each other, that's why it's important for me to help stop her. Stop Alison.

"So you're tired of Alison ruling the school too?" I asks as inconspicuous as I possibly can.

Lucas gives a scoff. "Who isn't."

Good to know.

"So where is Toby I didn't see him next to you this morning." Lucas ask looking around as we enter the building.

I take a deep breath. "Toby is visiting his grandparents down south for a couple of months. So it's just me flying solo for a while." I say forcing a smile.

Lucas gives me a sympathetic smile. "Well if you ever need anything, a friend to talk to, a place to sit during lunch, I'd be happy to have you." He says sincerely.

My smile turns genuine as I give him a slight nod. "Thank you. I might take you up on that offer." I say nudging him slightly.

I open my locker, just in time to see Alison walk in. I quickly bury my head in my locker, hoping she can't see my face.

"Uh Emily what are you doing?" Lucas asks confused staring at me as if I've just grown two heads.

"...just...looking for my history book." I say never taking my head out of my locker.

Lucas reaches into my locker and pulls it out. "You mean this history book?" He asks/states pointedly.

I slowly pull myself out of my locker, looking around to notice that Alison is nowhere in sight. "Uh yeah thanks." I say awkwardly.

"Look, if it's any consolation I don't think you're on Alison's hit list..." Lucas starts.

No but she's on mine.

"So you can relax...no more hiding in your locker." He adds with a laugh.

"Yeah. I guess." I say, taking my book from his hands.

"Well I better get to class. See ya." He says with a final wave before he disappears down the hall.

I look at my watch and notice we still have 10 minutes before the final bell sounds. I guess it's a good time as any to return that key to coach Fulton. I turn around and place my history book back in my locker grabbing my reading book.

I don't even have history until 2nd period. I just needed an excuse to stick my head I my locker.

Pathetic? Yeah I know.

"Hey Emily." I hear someone call my name. I turn to my left to see none other than Paige McCullers standing next to me.

She looked nervous and fidgety.

Obviously not because of me, but I'm guessing it had something to do with the disgusted looks she was receiving from the students in the hallway.

Why is it such a big deal that she's gay?

I really hope that this changes when or if I come out.

"Hey Paige." I'm not really close to Paige but we're both on the swim team. Me being captain and she being co-captain. So we have to communicate more often than not.

I just never would have thought she was gay.

But then again many wouldn't think I was gay.

"I need your help." She starts softly. "I'm sure you've heard about the rumors floating around about me..." She says.

I don't respond I just give her a sympathetic smile.

"Well coach Fulton got a petition on her desk this morning, demanding to remove me from the team, and she's debating the idea of kicking me off or not." She finishes in a rush.

I frown in confusion. "And you need me to do what exactly?" I asks readjusting my bag on my shoulder.

"I need you to talk to her. Make her understand that I'm not like that." Paige pleads.

Again my eyebrows dips down in a frown of confusion. "Paige it's okay if you are." I say with a small laugh of understanding.

"I'm not!" She yells a little loudly cutting me off. This causes all eyes in the hallway to fall on us. She looks around then clears her throat before speaking in a lower voice. "I'm not like that. I can't be like that." Her voice breaks at the last statement.

I just nod my head in understanding. "Okay." Is all I say. I can see she's still in the denial stage.

I won't force her to admit anything out loud.

I can't even admit it aloud.

"I'm sorry." She says taking a deep breath. "I'm just a little..." She trails off.

"Overwhelmed." I finish for her, and she looks down a sign of her agreeing. "I'm headed there now to give her the key back to the pool. I could talk to her." I say.

She nods her head and gives me a small smile in appreciation. "Thank you." She says placing her hand on my arm.

"Eww why don't you two get a room." Some random guy says in disgust.

This causes Paige to quickly drop her hand from my arm in shame.

"Paige-" I start but before I can finish she's already fleeing.

"Thanks again." She mutters before she disappears down the hall.

I let out a small sigh before slamming my locker shut and start heading to the locker room. I spot coach Fulton sitting at her office looking over paperwork.

I walk up to the door and lift my hand to knock but I hesitate slightly...

Out of nowhere all of the nerves in my body stills...I guess I'm more nervous then I let on. I mean Paige is depending on me to help her and I don't know if this will work.

But Coach Fulton has to listen to me right?

I mean I am the captain for a reason.

Okay. You know what, lets just get this over with.

Here goes nothing.

I knock lightly on the door. "Coach Fulton." I call out softly.

"Come in." I hear her instruct. When I walk the through the door I'm greeted with a warm smile. "Good morning Emily. I take it you have something for me." She jokes.

I offer her a small smile, as I fish the key out of my pocket. "Thanks again for letting me use the pool." I say gratefully.

"Well I couldn't have my captain ill prepared." Fulton says with a smile. "Just be on time today and we'll forget that yesterday ever happened." She says with a nod before going back to her paperwork.

I nod my head in agreement. "Will do, see you at practice coach." I say turning to walk out the door. I place my hand on the doorknob ready to leave but then I remember the main reason I came here.

Paige.

"Hey coach." I say as I turn around to face her again. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about an incident occurring right now that's affecting the team."

Coach Fulton frowns slightly in confusion. "Sure what is it?" She asks curiously.

"It's about Paige McCullers." I say timidly. "I was hoping we could discuss keeping her on the team."

Coach Fulton lets out a sigh as she sets down the paperwork in her hand giving me her full attention. "Look Emily. I get that you want to keep her on the team, but you have to understand that my hands are tied on this one. Many of the girls feel uncomfortable and they're looking for me to make sure that's not an issue."

"But Paige is one of our strongest swimmers. And she's never had an incident with the girls beforehand. Most of them just hate the fact that she's gay so they're already writing her off. That's discrimination." I defend.

"I'm sorry Emily. Paige may be a strong swimmer but she can't swim in every race to replace the girls that will quit if I keep her on the team." Coach says sadly. "Many of the girls have come forward with stories about run-ins with Paige, and I can't ignore them no matter how fabricated the facts maybe." She concludes. "I'm sorry Emily but my hands are literally tied."

Fuck, I can't believe it didn't work. Paige is going to be so disappointed when I tell her I couldn't get her back on the team.

This is so messed up. Paige doesn't deserve this. Her entire life is about to change. No more swimming, no more field hockey, no more softball or basketball...no more scholarships for college.

Her future is ruined all because of some stupid rumor started by Alison Dilaurentis.

I let out a sigh and nod my head in understanding. "I understand Coach, but I also know that you're making a big mistake." I say before finally turning to walk out of the office.

I don't know if I'm more angry at the girls on the team or at coach Fulton.

They lied, and she's backing them up even if she doesn't have a choice.

In the end I see this for what it really is.

Unfair bullshit.

-English-

I walk into English class two minutes before the final bell sounds. I take my seat in the back left corner of the room.

Secluded.

Away from everyone.

Just as I sit down I look up just in time to see Mr. Fitz look over at me. He offers me a polite smile and a 'good morning Emily,' and all I can do is turn red.

Like the loser I am, I can't stop thinking about what Aria told me last night.

I mean for Christ sakes he's dating one of his students and has the audacity to look all of us in the eyes and claim to want to help us get to the next level, help us succeed.

Pft, yeah right. I guess that only applies to the students who falls into his bed.

But I'm not supposed to know this information, so I have to pretend that everything is okay. I quickly respond with a 'good morning' back before looking away, missing the confused look that Mr. Fitz gives me.

The noise of the classroom drowns out the sound of the bell, as Mr. Fitz walks over to the blackboard preparing to write. Then all of a sudden the entire classroom falls silent as the door opens and closes once more.

"How nice of you to join us Alison, by all means take your seat. And don't worry I'll let you off with a warning, so I can avoid seeing you in detention hall this afternoon." I hear Mr. Fitz say.

I quickly look up to see Alison give him a playful smirk. "Such the gentlemen Ezra, It's no wonder that all your students swoon over you." She concludes with a tilt of her head.

I can see Mr. Fitz jaw tighten and he clenches his fist in irritation. "It's Mr. Fitz, and please take your seat." He says through clenched teeth.

Alison smirks in triumph as she makes her way to the vacant desk in the center of the room.

How ironic is it that her chair is located in the center of the room.

Just so she can be the center of attention.

It's almost too fitting.

I guess I was staring too much, because soon after Mr. Fitz begins his lesson and the classes attention shift towards him, Alison must have sensed it because she looks over her shoulder catching my eyes.

And my eyes widen in fear, and Alison instantly shoots me a death glare, as if remembering yesterday's events.

I swallow the huge lump in my throat, and attempt to shift my eyes elsewhere but no matter what they always shift back to her, maybe it's because she's still staring at me, maybe it's because of something else entirely.

Alison opens her mouth to say something, but in the process she licks her lips, and my eyes become drawn to the movement.

Crap, she noticed.

And just like that her glare dissipates and instead her look becomes one of curiosity. Well more like one of confusion, like she's trying to understand what just happened.

Once she does, her smirk reappears and she raises an eyebrow at me, like some form of a challenge.

I blush before quickly looking away.

I know that Alison is such a bitch, but god I'm not stupid enough to think she's anything other than beautiful.

Like literally everything about her is perfect.

Her hair, her teeth, her smile, those damn dimples, that perfectly arched eyebrow.

Hell, even when she's barking out orders she's incredibly beautiful.

And I really have to keep my mind on the prize, and being distracted by her beauty doesn't help...

I let out a sigh and look up again to catch Alison giving me a sly smile before she turns around in her chair to face Mr. Fitz who is beginning his lesson.

Phew. Saved by the teacher.

-lunch time-

I'm so glad that school is halfway over. Today has been one depressing moment after another.

But hopefully it'll get better, because right now I'm headed to meet the girls so we can discuss our plans for Alison.

And even though we've discussed my part in this, I'm still a little confused on what exactly my role is in all of this.

I don't know how I'll benefit from this, besides the legend part.

Afterwards I'm pretty sure I'll just go back to being my loser self with the exception of people will recognize me as someone who was ruthless enough to stop Alison, but not cool enough to take her place.

I make my way to the student learning center.

Weirdly enough, walking through this room doesn't make me nervous. Most of the students I recognize, like Lucas and Andrew. I give them a small wave and smile, and receive one in return. This for some reason calms my nerves.

It helps me not feel so alone, especially after the fact that I'm missing Toby.

I let out a sigh as I round the corner to enter the back room where the girls are waiting for me, but as I turn the corner I manage to end up face to face with a blonde haired girl.

I couldn't see her face because of our close proximity, so all I could do is pray that it wasn't Alison.

"I think you enjoy bumping into me." I hear the voice say. A smirk playing on her lips.

I let out a breath of relief when I recognize the voice. "CeCe...Hi." I state in a surprised voice.

"Don't sound so surprised to see me in here, I mean after all we did have our first official meeting in the Library yesterday...I'm a scholar get over it." CeCe jokes, rolling her eyes.

I let out a small laugh and take a step back giving her personal space. "I'm not calling you stupid, I'm just surprised to see you again." I say dumbly.

"Well you tend to see the same faces when you go the same school." She says with a smirk. "We were bound to crash into each other again at some point in time."

"Right." I say with a small laugh. "Sorry." I mutter.

"Hey no need to apologize. It's okay you if you didn't want to see me for the rest of the year. I get it...one dose of me is enough." CeCe says with a smirk.

My eyes widen in horror at the accusation. "What?! No, that's not true-" I cut myself off when I see her smirk turn into a full blown grin. "You're just messing with me aren't you." I say in realization. "That's so mean." I say smacking her lightly on the shoulder.

CeCe laughs as she rubs her shoulder in faux pain. "You should really lighten up...I mean obviously you'd want to see me again. I know I'm irresistible." She says playfully flipping her hair shoulder in an arrogant matter.

"Hmm now that you've mentioned it, I really can see the resemblance between you and Alison." I joke, referring to her arrogant comment.

She smiles softly and playfully pushes my shoulder. "Now that was mean." She jokes back. "So I know you're surprised to see me in here, but I'm actually really surprised to see you. I'm here all the time and I've never seen your face." She observes.

"Uh..." I say stumbling over my words. I can't really tell her my exact reasons.

"Well..." I say again. "There's a first for everything. I needed a place to go to do my homework and decided I'd try this place out." I say with a shrug. "It's better than sitting alone at a lunchroom table." I conclude.

"Well good for you trying new things, and maybe meeting new people, but be careful it's some real weirdos out there." CeCe says with a small smile.

I frown in confusion. "Even weirder than you?" I asks tilting my head.

CeCe rolls her eyes and let's out a scoff. "Pfft. You'd only be so lucky to know me."

"I can see that Dilaurentis gene is pretty strong." I retort back.

CeCe just laughs and shakes her head. "Your witty...I like that."

I blush a deep red, looking away to hide it.

CeCe smile widens. "Well I must get going. I have to turn in some work, don't want to miss deadlines." She says walking away. "I'll see you around. Try not to bump into anyone, not everyone is as nice as me." She says with a smirk before disappearing out of the door.

I can't help but stare after her.

I know I made jokes about her similarities to Alison but she is just so different.

She's amazingly beautiful...which isn't so different, but her entire demeanor screams bad-ass, and not evil bad-ass but I-don't-care-what-you-think-of-me-I-listen-to-alternative-music-badass

And a hot one at that.

I can see that Dilaurentis gene isn't just one of cockiness, but one of enriched beauty, and something that draws you you in.

I better be careful...CeCe could be a distraction too.

"There you are!" I hear a voice to my left say, and before I know it I'm being pulled into a room. "We've been waiting on you for like 3 hours." Hanna exasperates.

"It's been more like 10 minutes Han." Spencer says rolling her eyes at Hanna's exaggeration.

Spencer's moving about the room setting up wires or what not. Hanna is sitting in a chair filing her nails. And Aria is staring at me giving me a soft smile, so I walk over to sit next to her.

"Hi." She says softly with a cheerfully.

"Hey." I respond back, hoping that I mustered up the same kind of glee.

"So who was that girl you were talking to outside the room?" She asks quietly, so the other girls won't hear.

I blush a deep red as I frown, trying to wrap my head around how she got this information.

But It doesn't last for long, because Aria puts me out my misery. "I saw you talking to her when I peeked out the door, I didn't want to interrupt your conversation." She says with a shrug.

"I just bumped into her. I was apologizing." I lie easily, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

Aria frowns in thought, as if she's contemplating something. "Wasn't that Alison's sister, CeCe?" She asks, not as quietly as I would have hoped because Hanna overhears her.

"Wait you know Alison's sister?" She exclaims excitedly.

"No. I bumped into Alison's sister." I lie again. But her excitement had my nerves standing on edge.

"Still, we could try to use her to get to Alison. Especially if you make friends with her." Hanna says deviously.

"What!?" I asks incredulously. "That's crazy!"

"No, that's smart." Hanna says leaning back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest smugly.

"She has nothing to do with this we can't just use her, it's too much of a risk." I defend weakly.

Hanna opens her mouth to retort but she's cut off by Spencer. "She's right Han. The less casualties we have in this the better." She concludes as she finishes whatever she was doing with those wires.

Phew, thank god.

Hanna just rolls her eyes. "Can we just get on with this show."

"Gladly." Spencer says hitting a button on the remote. A large picture of Alison pops up. "Okay Emily do your thing." She says turning to face me.

"My thing?" I asks confused.

"Yes. You're new with fresh eyes. Somehow the three of us come up with the same ideas, we need someone coming in from the outside to tell us how we should do this." Spencer concludes.

Fuck. I seriously have no idea what I'm supposed to say.

I clear my throat and look around and all of them stare at me with the same look on their face...hope.

I take a deep breath and look over at the picture of Alison on the screen.

And I can't deny, she may be prettier in person but pictures of her are just as beautiful, and not to mention that picture was taken last year during picture day. Can you imagine how much she's grown since then.

It's easy to see how people can be enchanted by her….I mean if I looked like her I would….

And I may have just found a way to destroy her.

"Okay, what attracts people to Alison Dilaurentis?" I asks, hoping to lead them to my train of thought.

They all give me a dumbfounded look before Aria speaks up. "It's not just one thing, it's everything." Aria says. "It's her hair, her smile, her perfect skin..." She trails off with a shrug.

"And what happens if we take all that away from her?" I question again with a small smile.

"Then she loses everything." Hanna says as realization falls on her.

"I get where you're going with this." Spencer adds in. "If we can find a way to make Alison into an ugly duckling then she wouldn't be desired anymore and people wouldn't be compelled to follow behind her."

"But how are we going to do that? She's like a walking cover girl ad?" Hanna asks.

"Well think about it. Monday is the most important day for us...well her. It's picture day. And every year Alison gets voted most beautiful girl in the school because of her picture. That's the perfect time to implement our plan. That way the whole entire school would see it, and Alison wouldn't be able to redeem herself from that. She'd be so embarrassed she'd hide her face in a paper bag." I say excitedly.

"It's a systematic destruction of all that is Alison Dilaurentis." Spencer says pressing a button on the remote disintegrating the picture of Alison on the monitor, causing the rest of us to laugh." And girls I think I have an idea on how to do it." She says with a small smile.

"Okay let's meet up Monday morning before pictures starts." Aria says standing up, collecting her belongings.

"Agreed. I need to get to class, I don't want to be late." Spencer says, standing as well.

"Of course." Hanna says rolling her eyes.

We all laugh as we file out of the room, but I'm stopped by a hand on my arm. I take in a deep breath, preparing for the lashing I'm going to get from her about the CeCe thing.

"What's wrong Hanna?" I asks curiously.

"Your clothes." She says releasing my arm from her hold.

I frown in confusion before looking down at my outfit. "What about them?" I ask.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "You don't really expect me to let you walk around like that. Especially if we're going to be seen together." She says with a raised eyebrow.

I shift from foot to foot self-consciously, as I grip the hem of my shirt in my fingers.

"Look Emily, I meant it when I said that you were hot. You just have to show it off." Hanna says with a small smile.

I give her my best attempt at a smile, but I'm sure it comes off as a nervous grimace.

"Just meet me in front of Rosewoods mall at 5:00. We can get some shopping done." Hanna says before exiting the room. Leaving me all alone with my thoughts.

-swim practice-

"Good practice ladies!" Coach Fulton says as she claps her hands cheering us on as we finish our last laps. "If you ladies keep this up, next week will be a piece of cake when we go up against Central high."

I pull myself out of the pool and take off my goggles and swimming cap, I grab the ends of my hair and start wringing it out.

"Okay ladies hit the showers, I'll see you Monday." She instructs, and the team follows suits and exits the pool area.

When I move to leave as well, coach Fulton stops me by placing her hand on my shoulder.

Even though I'm not happy with her right now, I give her my undivided attention because she's my coach. "That was pretty impressive timing." She says looking down at her stop watch. "Your best time yet." She concludes.

"Uh thanks." I say, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly.

Coach Fulton let's out a sigh. "Look I understand that your pretty upset about Paige, but I don't want you to let that affect your position on the team. You're the best swimmer we have, and the captain of this team. Don't become distracted by this. Continue to move forward. We're all depending on you." She finishes her lecture with a smile.

I think that's the problem, people depend on me.

Paige depended on me to be her captain, to support and help her. And I wasn't allowed to do that.

I couldn't help her.

I can't just walk away from it and move forward.

It's not right.

And I shouldn't allow the girls on the team to get away with it either. They lied and manipulated coach, just like Alison Dilaurentis would have done. So I have no doubt in my mind that she's behind this somehow.

I won't rest until I fix this.

But coach is right for now I need to move forward, but I will be bringing along this issue until I can fix it.

I force a smile and nod my head. "Okay coach." I lie easily.

Coach Fulton seems to like this because she smiles and lets out a small breath of relief. "Good." She says turning to leave.

"Hey coach do you think I can swim for a little while longer?" I ask, stopping her in her tracks.

She offers me a smile before turning and handing me a set of keys. "I got this made for you. Consider it your gift as captain. Now you can practice whenever you want." She says tossing me the keys. "Just don't throw any wild parties." She jokes.

I laugh and look down at the set of keys. "Thanks coach, this means a lot." I say gratefully.

She just offers me another smile before she disappears.

I let out a sigh as I set the keys down next to my goggles and swimming cap, before diving into the water.

These last two days have been weird. I'm involved in things that I'd never get involved in if Toby was here, and I'm talking to people I would have avoided like the plague. Everything is just so...weird.

When I emerge from the water, after doing 6 laps, I see a blonde haired girl sitting on the bleachers watching me. I wipe my eyes to clear my vision only to notice that it's Alison Dilaurentis.

Shit. She's here to finally kill me.

I make an attempt to move out of the water only to be stopped by the sound of the her voice.

"Don't stop on my account." She says and I halt in my tracks. "You're not too bad...your kick off is pretty sloppy, but you're pretty fast." She compliments in the only way she can complement.

"Uh thanks." I say, not sure if I should have thanked her or not.

Alison just gives a shrug before standing up and walking over towards me. "I used to swim. For fun of course." She comments. Staring out at the water.

I take this time to look at her attire. She's wearing a sundress but underneath I can see a one piece swimming suit.

Was she coming to swim?

"I come in here every Friday...you're all gone by this time." She comments again finally looking down at me.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asks preparing to get the hell out of here as fast as I can.

"How about a race?" She asks with a raised eyebrow, and a smirk growing on her face.

I give an amused smile. "You want to race me?" I asks incredulously. "You do realize that I'm anchor for a reason."

"Then you should have no problem beating me." Alison says before dropping the towel in her hand. She then whips off her dress tossing it to the ground, before diving in flawlessly.

I could do nothing but watch her in awe as she moves through the water warming up.

She's amazing. Like actually good enough to make the team...and probably with the right training give me a run for my money as anchor.

That's a terrifying thought.

She reaches the other side of the pool in no time, then makes her way back towards me.

"Wow. You're pretty good." I say once she reaches the wall.

Alison pulls herself up, pushing her hair back out of her face. "Of course I am." She says wiping water off her face.

She must have on waterproof mascara, because her makeup is still flawlessly intact.

I just shake my head at her arrogance.

I can see where CeCe gets it from.

"So how about that race." She states, and before I know it she's halfway down the pool, and I have to play catch up.

And let me tell you she's pretty fast, so I have a hard time keeping up. But soon we're both matching stride for stride, racing back and forth.

When we're approaching our final lap, naturally I start taking the lead. As I approach the wall I hear Alison let out a scream, causing me to stop swimming. I turn around to see her floating on her side, her head barely above the water as she holds her leg like it's the source of her pain.

"My leg...I caught a cramp in my leg." She says frantically grasping at it.

Immediately I rush towards her, attempting to help her. But the second I touch her she takes off towards the wall, like nothing ever happened.

Alison touches the wall first, then turns around facing me. "I won." She says smugly, with a smirk on her face.

My jaw drops in shock.

She cheated.

I can't believed she tricked me. That was just rude and crude and...and...pretty funny.

I start giggling, and soon Alison follows behind me, and now we're both laughing uncontrollably.

Unconsciously or consciously we both swim towards each other, meeting in the middle.

"I told you I could beat you." Alison says swimming around me in circles.

I rotate with her as I start to float more on my back. "You do know you cheated right." I state with a knowing smile.

She gives a smirk and a shrug. "That's your version of the story."

Part of me is wondering does she not recognize me at all. I mean just yesterday she was telling me to leave the country and now she's swimming with me in a pool, actually being a decent human being.

Maybe she was just doing that for show. Maybe she's not the bitch that everyone thinks she is.

"Alison." I state as I stop swimming. Giving her my undivided attention. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to call you a..." I trail off.

"A bitch." Alison's smirk turns more condescending.

I nod my head looking down ashamed.

She scoffs and shakes her head. "Yes you did. You think I'm a bitch and you meant what you said. You don't think that I'm used to people trying to challenge my position? If I let the little things get to me I'd be just as pathetic as the rest of you." She says her voice turning cold. "You're not the first, and definitely won't be the last." She concludes, venom laced in her voice.

I don't know why but I felt some form of sympathy for her.

And I know I'm conspiring against her now, but at the time of the incident I had no intentions on challenging her.

I was just defending myself.

"I get it. When you're at the top someone is always trying to take you down. But yesterday I had no intentions on doing that. I was just in a really bad mood and I took it out on you. Normally I keep my mouth shut but at the time I couldn't help myself." I admit sheepishly.

Alison doesn't respond, instead she looks at me as if she's trying to read me. After a while her intense star mellows down into a blank stare.

She hesitantly nods her head as if she got her answer before she starts swimming towards the edge of the pool. "We should get changed." She says pulling herself out of the pool and disappearing into the locker room.

I reluctantly follow.

I don't know if she believed me or not, and I don't know why I want her to. Because in the end I'm doing the very thing she's accusing me of.

And once she finds out, this moment would have meant nothing.

Once we enter the locker room I lose sight of Alison, but I can hear the shower turn on, so I can take a wild guess as to where she is. I enter a shower myself, quickly scrubbing the chlorine from my skin.

It's almost 4:20 and I have to meet Hanna at the mall in 40 minutes. When I exit the shower, I notice that Alison's has stopped.

I guess she's gone now.

I make my way towards my locker, and as I round the corner and almost run into Alison. She's standing with her back facing me, but she's only wearing a towel.

Subconsciously my eyes began to roam the body parts I can see, and I consciously have to stop myself.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts and open my locker pulling out a change of clothes.

"Do you like this." I hear Alison ask me. "I got it from a Paris fashion catalog." She sayss holding her bra in front of me.

But that's not all that's in front of me.

Alison's facing me and all her glory.

And what amazing glory it is...

"Are you okay?" She asks me with a raised eyebrow.

I swallow the lump that forms in my throat. I also blink a couple of times before looking away. Anything to get my mind off of her and her birthday suit.

"Uh yeah... I'm fine." I mutter, blushing a deep red whenever I look over towards her, I place my glasses back on my face in an attempt to busy myself. "It's a pretty cool bra...I guess if bra's can be cool." I say as a last attempt to seem unfazed by this scene.

But I don't think it works because by the look on Alison's face you'd think she won the lottery.

The smirk on Alison's face grows tenfold and she tilts her head to the side appraisingly. "You think you can hook this for me." I hear Alison ask me turning around to face away from me.

"Uh...sure." I answer after I clear my throat.

With wobbly legs I move closer to Alison. And with shaky hands I reach up and hook her bra as best as I can.

It took me awhile to get it at first because I kept fumbling with the clasps. But eventually I get it, and I step away from her as quick as I can.

"T-there. Done." I mutter, turning another shade of red.

"Thanks." Alison says turning around to face me with a smirk on her face.

She continues to get dressed as if nothing just happened. But I on the other hand can't even regulate my breathing.

"Alison! You in here!" I hear another voice exclaim as heels clack throughout the locker room letting us know that someone is approaching us.

and quickly.

I don't recognize the voice but I'm almost positive Alison's does by the way she quickly fumbles to grab her things.

I frown in confusion as I toss on my shirt, completing my outfit, before turning to face Mona Vanderwaal.

Mona gives me a confused look. "Oh, I didn't think anyone else would be in here." She says looking me up in down in disapproval.

Don't worry the feelings mutual, I think as I raise my eyebrow at her challengingly.  
I think she catches on to my inner thoughts because she rolls her eyes while giving me a scoff. "Have you seen Alison Dilaurentis?" She asks folding her arms across her chest giving me an impatient look.

I look behind me to see the vacant spot that was once crowded by Alison and her belongings.

I guess she doesn't want to be found.

"Does it look like she's in here?" I asks rhetorically.

Mona frowns at my tone of voice as her stance becomes more defensive. "Watch it loser. I'd hate to have you ostracized from school...oops too late for that." She says with a condescending smirk on her face.

I choose not to respond. I just wait for her to get over whatever else she feels the need to say to me.

She rolls her eyes before giving the locker room a brief glance around again. "If you see Alison, just tell her that her very pissed off ride is waiting on her and unless she wants to walk in those designer heels she better move her ass." Mona says before storming out of the locker room.

I let out a deep breath I never realized I was holding and shut my swim locker shut.

"You can come out now...your trustee side kicks gone." I announce to the air, hoping that Alison is still in here.

"You know you really shouldn't piss her off. She's more ruthless than me." Alison says with a smirk as she emerges from the showers.

"I doubt it." I mutter under my breath hoping Alison doesn't hear me.

But I'm pretty sure she does by the way her jaw tightens. "Thanks for covering for me. I wouldn't have lived it down if she caught me in here with you." Alison says with a shrug.

"Is it so wrong to enjoy yourself with people that's not in your inner circle?" I asks confused.

I know it's not worth being the most envied person in school if you can't enjoy it.

Alison gives me a strained smile. "That's not why she'd freak." She says moving towards the door. "See you around scooter girl." And with that she's out the door.

I stare at the door more confused than ever.

What the hell did she mean by that?

And did I just seriously have a moment with Alison Dilaurentis?

-

I knock on the door waiting for someone to answer.

For some reason I'm curious to know what really did happen in that locker room, and was it anything like my experience with Alison.

"Emily? What are you doing here?" Paige asks as she walks onto her porch.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." I say shifting from foot to foot nervously.

"Is it about the team?" Paige asks, her entire face lightening up. "Am I back on the team?"

Well this is awkward. Maybe I should have delivered this news over the phone.

I clear my throat and shake my head. "I'm sorry Paige but coach doesn't think that you're fit to be on the team anymore." I say with a sympathetic look.

Paige gives a crestfallen look but quickly tries to cover it up with a forced smile. "That's fine. I get it." She says with a shrug but it soon turns into a frown. "You know you could have just called and told me this. I mean I appreciate the gesture but it would have saved you a drive." She says with a confused look.

Same thing I was thinking.

"Uh, well that's not all that I wanted to talk to you about." I say, my nerves kicking back in.

"Okay?" Paige says stepping completely out of her doorway. "What's up?"

"It's about the rumor...I was just wondering what really happened?" I ask.

Paige face falls again and this time she does nothing to hide it. "I told you. Nothing happened it's all a lie." Paige says through gritted teeth.

"Paige you don't have to lie to me. You can tell me what really happened." I insist.

"What do you want from me Emily? For me to spill my guts so you can go back and tell the rest of the school?" Paige asks with venom laced in her voice.

"No! You know I'm not like that Paige...I just want to know what happened...for my own personal reasons." I defend.

Paige stares at me for a moment before realization dawns on her and she relaxes a bit. "She tried something with you in the locker room didn't she?" She asks knowingly.

Tried something?

What is she talking about?

Paige takes a deep breath and sits down on the steps of her porch.

I'm so confused to what the hell is going on.

I thought this was just a friendship thing with Alison, but it sounds like this is something way more.

"Paige what happened in that locker room?" I asks sitting next to her.

"Me and Alison have 3rd period gym together, so it's natural we'd see each other in the locker room." She starts. "But I swear we'd always end up the last two every single time. I had to always stay behind and help clean up the equipment but Alison...well I don't know why she stayed behind. But like clockwork we were stuck in there together. She'd be changing just when I'm getting out of the showers." Paige stops like she's lost in thought.

I wait patiently for her to finish, this story seems hard enough without me rushing her.

"I could have sworn she was doing it on purpose." Paige says like she's still confused about events that happened between them.

"Did what on purpose?" I asks confused.

Paige takes a deep breath before finishing her story. "She'd always take off her clothes so slow, like she was teasing me...like she knew that I was...that I was-"

"Gay?" I finish for her.

She looks over at me as if she's scared of how I'd react. I give her a encouraging smile, which seems to relax her because she gives me a small smile in return.

"Yeah." She admits in a soft tone. "It's like she knew I was gay, and she exploited it. One day she even asked me to unhook her bra..." She scoffs out a laugh, as if this was hard to believe even to her.

But that event seems something similar to what happened this afternoon. So it's possible that Paige isn't making any of this up.

Holy shit what if she isn't making any of this up?

Does that mean that Alison is...?

No it couldn't be.

"Did something happen between you two?" I asks cautiously.

Paige laughs a little and shakes her head. "That's where I messed up at. I got so caught up in the moment and kissed her on the shoulder, just as Mona Vanderwaal was walking in and Alison accused me off jumping her. Next thing I know there's a rumor going around school that I'm a lesbian and that I shouldn't participate on sport teams with girls because I can't control my urges." Paige says shaking her head at the accusations.

If this really happened does that mean that Alison is gay...or did Paige imagine the entire thing.

I know the same thing happened with me and Alison but she wasn't trying anything with me. It seemed like she just seems extremely comfortable in her skin and is okay with girls seeing her nude.

Maybe Paige wanted something to be there.

But I can't help but remember what Alison said earlier...

 _ **"That's not why she'd freak."**_

Maybe that's what she meant about Mona freaking out….catching her in there with another girl.

Or maybe I'm defending someone that doesn't deserve it.

I honestly don't know what to take from this.

Maybe I should talk to Hanna and see what she says.

I'm sure she'd have an idea on what to do.

 **So that's the third chapter. I really hope you liked it. Again sorry it took so long, next time it won't. But please comment and let me know what you think.**

 **Until next time.:)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alison Dilaurentis Must Die.**

 **Episode 4: Cover Girl.**

 **Emily POV:**

She's taking this well...

Almost too well.

After I left Paige's house I raced to get to the mall...I knew I had to tell Hanna of my discovery.

I was freaking out, so I knew she would too. But that's the catch.

She didn't...

She just took a sip of her latte and nodded her head to everything I was saying.

Maybe she's just absorbing the information, maybe she doesn't believe me. But whatever the case may be she was not supposed to take the news this well.

"Do you think this top goes with that skirt in that store we just left?" She asks as she stares at the top in her hand.

She just can't be serious right now...

"Is that seriously all you have to say?" I ask confused at her certain behavior.

I mean this is the girl that wants to take Alison down the most. She practically watched me undress in a locker room just to see if I was the girl for the job. So I find it hard to believe that this piece of information isn't useful to her.

"What do you want me to say?" She asks casually as she leans back in her chair.

"Uh something other than about a stupid top!" I practically exclaim, but quickly sit down when she shoots me a glare.

"First of all this top is not stupid, it's Stylish and could possible be chosen for for my profile pic...and second of all consider who you're getting your information from. Alison ruined her reputation and now she has the opportunity to damage hers. Don't you think she's going to do anything and everything to do so?" Hanna points out.

"I know...but isn't that the reason you wanted me to do the job? I'm on the inside and I could find this type of information out. Your words exactly. So what's the point of this if I'm not even listening to them. And besides most of the people who run in my 'loser' circle have a vendetta against Alison and would like to see her pay." I point out right back. Smugly might I add.

Hanna let's out a sigh. "Okay you're right." And just as quickly as Hanna looks defeated, she perks right back up. "You know what would really go with your skin tone?...Natural colors I can definitely see you in a red or brown shirt. It'll scream modesty yet sexy." She says excitedly.

Oy Vey!

I sit back in my chair amazed at Hanna as she continues to talk about clothing choices for me.

It's like she has the mind of squirrel.

We haven't even gotten through this conversation yet before she jumped to the next one...

But I guess that's just something I'm going to have to get used to from now on until our arrangement is over with, so I just nod my head pretending to hear every word she says.

"Come on. I know the perfect place to shop for you at?" I hear Hanna say before she jumps out of her seat and takes my hand dragging me along with her.

-2 hrs. Later-

We spend another hour shopping around before we finally settled on a store. One that we've been in for an entire hour, looking at the same sets of clothing over and over.

If I don't leave this store soon I'm going to scream!

I've tried to sneak off twice, before ultimately being caught. Now Hanna has insisted upon me holding her hand like a damn 12 year old.

It's really embarrassing, when she pulls me closer to her and insists on saying 'come along child.'

"Okay now I'm certain this is the shirt for you." Hanna says pulling the 100th clothing item off the rack and handing it to me.

I fumble to grasp it in my hands, because one, she is currently holding my right hand. And two my left arm is full, I couldn't possible fit anymore clothes in it, but Hanna insists on trying.

At times like this it makes me grateful that I rarely have to endure this because Toby hates shopping just as much as this.

Ah yes, the perks of having a boy best friend.

The good ole days.

As Hanna drags me to the changing rooms, I'll allow us to skip the 30 minute details of me trying on tops and jeans and Hanna's crude comments with at least every other clothing item...and just say I'm now trying on the last of the bunch.

Hanna stares at me with a scrutinizing eye, and her chin pinched between her pointer finger and thumb, as she appears in thought. "Spin around." She instructs.

I rolls my eyes and do so.

Again, this is just embarrassing. I feel like her life size Barbie doll.

"Okay perfect." She says clapping her hands in a sarcastic manner. "This shirt is hideous take it off." She says her expression turning sour.

"Ugh! Seriously Hanna, this is like the 100th shirt I've tried on, and out of which you've only approved of 10." I say as I fumble to reach behind my back to undo the zipper.

Hanna just rolls her eyes at my dramatics as she stands up from the chair she is sitting on. "Turn around." She says spinning me around before unzipping me.

Before I take the shirt off, we both pause to look in the mirror.

Me watching my reflection and Hanna watching me.

It's odd, standing in clothes that's skin tight. It shows off more than I thought I had. Curves that I never knew existed. Breast I didn't know grew in size.

But the feeling doesn't cause embarrassment. It actually makes me quite excited.

And not that type of excited, don't be gross, just the kind that makes me proud to be in this body.

"See." Hanna says interrupting my thoughts. "You are hot." She says placing a hand on my hip. "And you have a body to die for. You should embrace it, and not hide behind clothing fit for a sumo wrestler." Hanna jokes as she runs her hand up my curves, stopping before she gets to the swell of my breast. "So what do you think?" She asks quietly.

At the moment, I'm thinking a lot of things. Most of which consists on the groping of Hanna's hand. But the other thoughts consists of saying 'she was right.' Or 'I guess I am kind of hot.' But none of which leave my mouth.

So I offer an alternative, I give Hanna the best smile I can, hoping that she gets the gesture.

And she does. She squeezes my hip before stepping back a little. "Just one more thing." She says reaching around to my face, taking my glasses off, then pulling my hair out of the ponytail it was in, allowing it to flow down my back.

"Now we're complete." She says in awe.

I look towards the mirror in amazement at my reflection. I have to blink a couple of times to clear my blurry vision but when I do... "Holy shit." I whisper out.

That girl in by mirror doesn't even look like me. The red shirt really does bring out my skin tone, and without my glasses it's easier to see my almond eyes. My hair cascades past my shoulders and I pull it to one side running my fingers through the tangles as I continue to stare at my reflection.

I feel like I'm in a Cinderella story and Hanna's my fairy godmother.

It's weird right?

"We should get you home." Hanna says picking up the small pile of clothes, that I'm apparently purchasing, leaving the larger pile behind for the store clerks to take care of.

I nod my head and quickly change out of the shirt to put back on my original one. When I come out Hanna is staring straight ahead, towards the register where a beautiful dark skin girl is checking out a few customers.

"Everything alright?" I asks breaking Hanna out of her daze.

Hanna blinks a couple of times before giving me a forced smile as she nods her head. "Yeah, let's go." She says moving towards the front of the store.

I notice that she hasn't given me back my glasses or ponytail holder so I'm stuck with my hair down and blind. I try my hardest not to squint, and curse myself for not carrying my spare contacts with me.

Once we get there, the line seems to have disappeared, so Hanna walks right up to the counter and drops the items down.

"Did you find everything okay?" The dark skinned girl asks, her eyes primarily focused on Hanna.

I squint down at her name tag and see the words 'Maya' printed on her name tag.

Hmm Maya, I like that name.

Hanna gives her a tight smile, and a rushed "Yup."

The Maya girl just smirks at her, and Hanna rolls her eyes. "Long time no see Hanna. You haven't been in here for a long while."

"Well I was hoping if I waited long enough they would have let you go by now." Hanna says in a sarcastic tone.

My eyes widen at the comment as I look back and forth between the girls.

Woah, that went down hill fast.

Clearly those two know each other.

And there's nothing but bad blood.

Maya smirk turns into a full blown grin before she lets out a laugh. "You really haven't changed have you."

Hanna just rolls her eyes to help contain the smile threatening to break free. "I could say the same for you."

At this moment the Maya girl chooses to look at me. Her eyes widen slightly before she looks me up and down, she then gives me an approving smile. "You're a new face..." She says giving Hanna a look I can't decipher. Whatever it was meant to say Hanna caught the meaning and shook her head no.

"Hmm. Shame." Is all she says, as she continues to scan my clothes.

I'm so confused I think my brain is starting to throb. Or it could be from all of the squinting I'm doing because Hanna took my glasses hostage.

"How do you know Hanna?" Maya asks turning her attention back towards me.

"Uh..." I start off. I can't exactly tell her that Hanna spied on me and now I'm helping her seek revenge on her back stabbing best friend, who happens to be the evil queen of the school.

"We have Science together." Hanna jumps in to rescue me, and also giving me a look saying 'get your shit together'

I give her an apologetic smile. "Oh...uh...Yup...science class." I add on lamely.

Maya gives me a look that says she doesn't believe me. "Well word of advise, I know you're new, but if you want to keep your friendship with Hanna, never go shopping with her on the first date. That's where our falling off started." She jokes.

I let out a laugh, because not even an hour ago I was thinking the same thing.

My laugh is cut short by the swat I receive to my arm by a not so pleased Hanna.

"Joking of course." Maya adds with a wink for good measure.

As she finishes up with my clothes she looks up towards me scanning my face, then body, then my face again. She opens her mouth to say something then bites her bottom lip to contain whatever was going come out. Then she repeats the process all over again. This time when she stops on my face we make eye contact, and her eyes darken slightly.

Holy shit is she checking me out?

And I suddenly I find myself blushing a deep red before quickly looking away.

And Hanna gives me a strange look.

But Maya's look tells it all. She seems pleased with my reaction.

"Okay all set. Your total is $129.59. Would that be cash or credit." She asks me with a smirk.

"Uh...credit." I answer handing her my credit card.

Maya makes a show of taking the card from me by brushing our fingers together.

If my face gets any redder I'm going to catch fire.

After she scans my card she hands it back to me. She takes the receipt out of the machine and begins writing on it.

I'm confused at first until she hands it to me along with my bags. "You know if you're ever bored with just making one new friend." She says motioning to the receipt, that I now notice has her phone number on it. "You can give me a call, and maybe you can have two new friends." She adds a smile for good measure.

And I find myself tripping over my words. "O-okay." I say, before I am being pushed out of the store by Hanna.

"No thanks. She already has enough friends. But I did leave you a pile of clothes to sort through in the back. Hop to it, I wouldn't want to get you in trouble." Hanna says pointedly to a smirking Maya as we disappear out the store.

"Ugh, the nerve of that whore." Hanna says angrily, once we're out of earshot.

I give a small laugh at her antics. "What? I thought she was nice." I say with a shrug.

"Yeah as nice as a snake can be." Hanna scoffs out. "You do realize she was flirting with you?" She asks me incredulously.

This causes me to blush a deep red. "Uh...I mean...uh." I say not knowing how to answer her. I take a deep breath then give an attempt to shrug uncaringly. "I-uh..figured." I spit out.

Hanna just give me a look that I can't decipher and I do my best to not attempt to.

My best option is a change of subject.

"So how do you know her? Did you two used to be friends?" I ask her.

Hanna let's out a scoff and rolls her eyes. "No. We just used to...run in the same crowds. But we were never friends." Hanna says giving me a stern look.

"Why do you hate her so much?" I asks her, my curiosity getting the best of me.

Hanna seems to contemplate for a moment before she sighs and looks at me with a soft expression. "When me and Alison stopped being friends, she turned her back on me too...to become part of the in crowd. I mean you would hardly call us friends but it still hurt none the less." Hanna says then clears her throat to remove all traces of hurt in her voice. "But to hell with her and them." She finalizes.

Who's them?

The popular clique? I want to press the question but Hanna turns to face me cutting me off.

"You think I can bum a ride home. I caught a ride here from Spencer and she's at the country club with her dad." Hanna asks sweetly.

I give a shrug. "No I don't mind. But I'm going to need something in return..." I start but I'm cut off by Hanna.

"If your looking for carfare then your not going to get it. I spent all my money on that sale." She says folding her arms across her chest.

"Well not that fare wouldn't be nice... I was thinking more of my glasses, I kind of need those to drive...and see." I add the last part jokingly.

Hanna just laughs a little before reaching in her purse to hand me my glasses. "Sorry." She says sheepishly.

I smile and place my glasses on my face. "Come on let's get out of here." I saw looping my arms through hers as I lead her towards my mom's car.

-Hanna's home-

I was sort of relieved when we arrived at Hanna's house.

Not that she lived far or anything, it's just that throughout the entire drive she kept staring at me with this weird look in her eyes.

It was quite...uncomfortable. And it was making me nervous, I didn't know what to expect.

Was she having second thoughts about me?

Did allowing Maya to flirt with me disgust her? Is that why she didn't want to talk about the possibility of Alison being gay? Because she's disgusted by the thought?

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of Hanna's voice. "Thanks for the ride." She says softly.

I nod my head. "No problem." I say just as softly.

Hanna makes to exit the car but then stops herself before turning to face me. "Can I ask you a question? And you have to promise me you'll give me your honest answer." She says cryptically.

I frown in thought before nodding me head in agreement. "Okay..."

"What do you think about Paige...and what she said about Alison? Is the reason that you told me this is because it surprises you or disgusts you?" She asks.

And I freeze.

What? I...I don't even know how to answer that.

I mean of course it doesn't disgust me but it definitely surprises me.

"I-I'm not homophobic Hanna..." I say incredulously.

Hanna stares at me for a moment before nodding her head, as not in understanding but more as if she's trying to process what I just said.

What could I say to make her believe other wise? Not to long ago I was thinking the same thing about her...I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover and neither should she.

Truthfully I know what to say...but I've never even said it out loud, to anyone...not even to myself.

I let out a deep sigh as I drop back in my seat, resting my head against the head rest in complete thought.

Hanna seems to notice my brief burden of contemplation because she remains silent allowing me to work through my troubles.

I look down at my trembling hands in my lap and began to fiddle with my fingers with nervousness.

I guess this is it...I should say what needs to be said.

"I don't have a problem with it because I...I'm g-gay Hanna." I force out with hesitation. "I like...girls too." I end releasing a deep breath.

To my relief it feels like the weight of the world has lifted off my chest and I'm free of a something that I've been carrying with me for what seems like forever.

It felt weird to say that aloud but in a sense freeing...

But none of that matters now...all that matters is how Hanna receives this information.

I turn to look at her. Hanna's staring ahead, and seems to be lost in thought at my news. I don't know rather that's a good or bad thing yet. Her eyebrows are creased down into a frown but I can see it in her eyes that she's not disgusted. So, from my experience with having this talk with uh... **no one** else...tells me it could go either way.

Hanna finally looks at me and strangely a huge smile breaks out on her face and she leans over giving me a fierce hug. "I knew I chose the right girl." She utters so quietly that I have to stop breathing to hear it. She plants a loud wet kiss on my cheek before releasing me from the hug. "I have to go...see you at school Monday." She says abruptly exiting the vehicle with all of her shopping bags in hand.

I'm so...confused.

I just watch her skip towards her house, she turns around before she enters, and gives me an enthusiastic wave, the disappears from the sight.

Seriously what just happened?

I let out a sigh as I put my car in drive.

I guess I couldn't have asked for a better way to be excepted. Especially on my first time coming out.

-Sunday night-

Tomorrow.

Tomorrows the day it all begins.

That's all I keep thinking as I lie in my bed staring at my ceiling.

That's all that's been occupying my thoughts for the last 24 hours.

I'm pretty sure I freaked my mom out with the way I kept blanking out during dinner. I couldn't even hold a proper conversation.

All I could think about is tomorrow. The day we start our take down of Alison Dilaurentis.

I guess I'm more nervous than anything. What if this doesn't work? What if she catches on and destroys the non-existing reputation that I have. What if she really chases me out of town...out of the country?

All these thoughts have been driving me insane and I can't even-

*ring**ring*

Great who could be calling me at 10:00 at night on a Sunday.

"Hello?" I answer with a tired sigh.

" _Woah, don't sound so disappointed to hear from me_." I hear a familiar deep voice say.

"Toby!" I exclaim in surprise, sitting up in my bed. "What the hell..I told you to call me when you settled in, I didn't know you had to build the house first." I say sarcastically.

He lets out a chuckle, and I can imagine the endearing smile on his face. " _Sorry, when I got here everything was happening around me so fast that I haven't had time to settle down and call_." He says apologetically. And I can imagine the puppy dog eyes he's giving me.

I let out a dramatic sigh and flop backwards on my bed, now starring at the ceiling. "Fine, your forgiven." I say dismissively.

He chuckles. " _So how's it been going? What's new? Is Alison trying to destroy your life now?_ " He breathes out one question after another.

I stare at the ceiling contemplating what to do.

Well its been going...well I can't really describe how it's been going I just know that I'm confused and lost. I met three new girls, and they're using me to take Alison down. And the only reason that I'm allowing this to happen is because I have no one else to talk to. And did Alison start chasing me out of town? Pfft that's the most confusing part of this entire thing. So far we've shared two moment and after each moment...well let's just say this is the most confused I've been in my entire life. There's questions I need answers to but if I was to ask she'd rip my head clean off my shoulders. So they will remain unanswered.

But do I tell him or do I not tell him, that's the question.

"You know same ole same ole. Just even more pathetic with out you here." I say with a shrug, down playing the events since Thursday night.

I hear Toby sigh. " _Em you have to try to at least talk and make other friends._ " He says in a fatherly tone.

I roll my eyes at him, even though he can't see me. "Yes dad." I say dramatically.

Toby let's out a small chuckle. " _I'm serious Em. Promise me you'll try to make friends. That you won't spend the majority of this time apart stuck in your room watching reruns of Friends."_ He says all traces of humor clear from his voice.

I'm almost certain that with Spencer, Aria, and Hanna that being alone won't be a problem.

"I won't Toby." I finally say after a beat of silence.

I hear Toby release a deep breath and then another conversation begin.

-Monday aka Stage 1 of the plan-

*beep*beep*beep*

I let out a long groan at the sound of my alarm.

I have never hated that sound so much in my life more than I do now.

I make sure to hit it extra hard when I sound it off.

I'm exhausted.

Me and Toby didn't get off the phone until 2:30 am. And I now I have to be up at 7:00. I'm literally dying right now.

"Emily sweetie are you up?" I hear my moms voice filter through my room door followed by rapid knocking.

Not having the energy to open my mouth, I just groan out my answer and my mom takes that as her cue to come in.

I hear her let out a disappointed scoff. "Emily honey, what are you doing? You're going to be late for school." She berates me as she flings back the drapes in my room.

I hiss at the sunlight and burrow deeper under the covers.

"Oh Emmy don't be so dramatic." She says rolling her eyes. "And get dressed, you don't want to be late. It's picture day." She says as she closes my door.

At this I spring up to a sitting position on my bed.

Holy guacamole! I totally forgot.

I scramble out of my covers and sheets heading to my bathroom as quickly as possible.

I think I set a record for how fast I showered and got dressed. I move about my room brushing my hair, while tossing school things in my backpack, plus looking for my glasses...which I now spot under my bed.

And no I'm not excited about picture day. I'm nervous because it's day one of the plan to take down Alison.

"Emmy!" I hear my mom call.

I let out a sigh "I'm coming mom!" I yell back anticipating that's why she's calling me.

"You have a friend here." She yells back.

I freeze in my steps. What?

I open my bedroom door in confusion. "Send them up!"

I walk back in my room to finish getting ready. When I turn around non other then Hanna Marin is standing in my doorway with an unimpressed look on her face.

"What are you wearing?" She asks.

"Uh...clothes?" I answer lamely not knowing what else to say.

"No, no, no." She says as she enters my room fully shutting the door behind her. "What happened to the clothes that we bought on Saturday?" She asks as she walks towards my closet, rummaging through it.

"Uh well I didn't know I was supposed to wear them today, or any day after." I say confused.

"Of course you do Emily. It's apart of your new image." She says giving me a look.

"My new image?" I ask confused.

"Yes. The one that's going to start once you replace Alison today as prettiest picture, which in time you'll become recognized as the most prettiest girl in school." Hanna says holding up a pair of jeans and a brown shirt in front of me.

Right. My part in the plan.

The reason they need me.

I stare at the outfit in her hand nervously. "Are you sure it will work?" I asks shifting from foot to foot.

"Of course I am." She says tossing the clothing on my bed. She walks over towards me and grabs the bottom of my shirt and motions for me to lift my arms, once I do she rips my shirt off of me. "But first we have to get you into some new clothes and with a little bit of make-up you'll be a whole new person." She says putting the shirt over my head.

It creates a disaster because at the time I had stripped out of my pants, which are pooling around my ankles, and the shirt she's placed over my head becomes stuck and now I'm without sight. Before I know it, I'm tripping over my legs and I'm on the floor starring up at Hanna, who's giving me a not so amused glare.

"Emily. Quit messing around we have like 10 minutes to get ready. And we still haven't started hair and make-up yet." She says standing over me shaking her head. "Let's go." She says grabbing my hand and pulling me up and pushing me into the chair by my desk.

Out of nowhere Hanna pulls out a bag that's full of makeup kits and hair products. "Geez Emily." She says taking my face in her hands and examining it. "How much sleep did you get last night? The bags under your eyes is big enough to carry my makeup." She complains shaking her head at me.

I just let out a sigh choosing not to respond as Hanna begins her process. Which I'm sure will take more than 10 minutes.

-30 minutes later-

I'm rushing down my stairs, Hanna right on my trail.

We're late!

Told you she would take longer than 10 minutes.

Since non of us have vehicles, against Hanna's advice, I was hoping to catch the bus, but now we've missed that too.

Hopefully my mom is busy in the kitchen and I can sneak her car, I'm sure she won't need it today.

Speaking of my mom...

We skid to the end of the stairs, as I see my mom at the bottom waiting for us.

Crap I'm so dead.

She's going to kill me for being late to school, I just know it!

I look at her nervously but it quickly morphs into confusion when I see her starring at me with her jaw almost touching the ground. Almost in...awe?

What? do I have something on my face?

Oh yeah I do. Blush, eyeliner and the absence of my glasses...which has been replaced by contacts that I found in the bottom of my bag, that may or may not be out of date.

She clasps her hands together. "Emmy...honey, you look amazing." She says pressing her clasped hands against her mouth, as tears spring to her eyes.

My confused look slowly morphs into a soft smile. "Thanks mom. Hanna helped me pick this out." I say trying to deflect some of the attention onto Hanna and off of me.

Hanna just shakes her head in disagreement. "I just dusted off the painting, the artwork underneath it was already breathtaking." Hanna says with a shrug, bringing the attention right back towards me.

Thanks Han.

"Oh god I need to get my camera and take pictures." My mom says as she moves towards the desk in the hallway for her camera.

She acts as if by midnight I'll turn into a pumpkin, so she needs proof that I existed or something.

"Mom!" I say stopping her in her tracks. "It's picture day. They'll be plenty of photos trust me." I says with a slight laugh at her behavior.

"Right." She says giving me an apologetic smile. "Well please make sure you order lots of pictures. I can't wait to frame them in the living room." She says giving me a smile.

I nod my head in agreement.

"Not to be rude Miss Fields but we're late for school and in a need of a ride. Do you mind?" Hanna asks breaking me and my mom out of our conversation.

"Oh yes, right of course." My mom says grabbing the keys off the hook on the wall. "Here take my car again. I won't need it until later on today." She says giving me her keys. "Drive safely." She says pulling me into a hug.

"Thanks mom." I say with a genuine smile. I turn to look at Hanna then motion for her to follow me.

When we get in the car we both just sit there, taking a moment to ourselves, letting out what seems to be nervous breaths.

"Are you ready?" Hanna asks me with an unsure look on her face.

"Yeah. You?" I ask, almost sure my face mirrors hers.

"I'm more then ready." Hanna says with a now determined look on her face.

-at school-

I could feel the stares way before we exited the car. They hit us like a spot light the moment I pulled my moms car into the parking lot.

And in that moment the butterflies in my stomach decided to start a conga line.

Hanna exits the car first. She's used to the attention that follows her around.

Me? Not so much.

When I exit the car I notice that many people are looking at me. It's like I'm the new kid all over again but this time it's not out of confusion as to where I came from. They're really looking at me as if I'm something of interest.

Hanna takes out of pair of glasses and slides them over her eyes. She walks around the car stopping in front of me.

"I know that look Emily. Don't freak out." She warns in a quiet voice as she looks around examining the crowd.

"But everyone is starring at me. I think I'm going to puke." I say shifting from foot to foot.

Hanna takes a small step back and her face scrunches up in mild discuss. "Okay not on those shoes because those are expensive, and not on mines either. And Emily I know you can do this. You just need to take a deep breath and relax." She she says reaching in her bag pulling out another pair of glasses. "Here. These always help me when I'm too nervous to face the crowd." She says with a shrug.

I take the glasses and with shaky hands slide them over my face. I take a deep breath before slinging my back pack over my shoulder.

"You're hot Em. Embrace it. Because that's what they'll be doing all day." Hanna says turning to walk towards the building. "And walk with a purpose. The most important thing a hot girl can wear is her attitude." Hanna says walking ahead of me for demonstration.

I quickly follow in her footsteps, thanking the gods that she didn't make me wear high heels or the only thing I'd be wearing is the ground today.

I notice people moving out of our way as we enter the building, parting in the halls allowing us to move through without any dilemmas. The last time I saw someone receive this treatment was Alison.

I wonder how she'd feel if she saw me and Hanna stealing her thunder.

I notice as Hanna walks she never drops her head but she greets everyone in the crowd. Let's not forget, Hanna may be a bad ass but she's sweet and everyone loves her. I just remain close to her side because most of the people she talking to doesn't run in my loser circle. But that still doesn't stop them from taking interest in me.

One guy even licks his lips and grips his package in a crude gesture. Gross.

We continue down the hall until we stop at her locker which I now spot Aria and Spencer standing at.

They simultaneously turn to look at me with wide eyes and dropped jaws.

You know I can never get used to this.

"Woah Emily, you look..." Aria shakes her head trying to get her words out. "...Amazing." She breathes out. "Holy shit Han did you do this?" Aria asks as she moves around me in a circle appraising my look.

Hanna just shrugs like its no big deal. "It's all apart of the plan." She says shooting me a wink.

"Speaking of plans, should we get started?" Spencer asks taking materials out of her bag.

"What's that stuff?" I asks confused as she lines up the products.

"It's the products that Alison uses in her make-up kit. Alison is very specific about what she puts on her face...and one thing she avoids like the plague is cucumber powder. She's highly allergic." Spencer says mixing some of the make-up products together with something that smells like cucumbers.

"Uh is that safe?" I ask hesitantly.

"She's not deathly allergic, just allergic. It'll cause hives on her skin but I promise that's the worst that will happen." Spencer says confidently.

"Okay. So say that this does work, how are we to get her to wear this make-up." I ask confused.

Spencer, Aria, and Hanna just laughs. "Trust me. Once I swap it out she won't know the difference. She reapplies this on every chance she can get." Spencer adds.

"So I guess a better question would be how do we swap it out." After I say this, everyone freezes, looking around with a terrified expression our faces.

I peek around the corner watching Alison as she roots through her locker. Hanna's head pops out below me and Aria's peeks out below hers, then Spencer completes the challenge by peeking her head out above mines.

Completing the perfect Scooby stack.

If this wasn't a serious moment, I would laugh at the peer comedy that's taking place in this situation...

And at the fact that no one seems to notice us.

I notice that Alison is holding a stack of books in one hand and a designer bag in another.

What I'm assuming to be a make-up bag.

So we've found the target, but I think there's a bigger question here...

"So who's swapping the bag out?" I hear Spencer asks above me.

And before I know it, we're all combating in a game of 'nose goes'.

It went Hanna, then Spencer, then me, and lastly our lucky loser Aria.

Yes! I'm so glad it wasn't me, I do not think I can face Alison right now.

She lets out a groan. "This is so not fair." She mutters stomping her foot like an immature child.

We all just stare at her expectantly.

She lets out an even more dramatic sigh. "Fine. How do I do this?" She asks folding her arms across her chest.

At this question, we all step back from the wall and huddle together as Spencer produces a bag that's identical to the one that Alison had in her hand.

"All you need to do is replace this bag." Spencer says holding it up. "With that one. It has the same make-up products that Alison uses but with our little added ingredient." Spencer says handing it to Aria.

She takes the bag with a dreaded look on her face.

"How exactly am I supposed to replace this bag with the one in her hand. I can't exactly walk up to her and make conversation, we haven't talked in a year." Aria exclaims.

"That my friend is for you to figure out." Hanna says with a shrug.

Aria let's out another huff before spinning on her heels, rounding the corner, heading towards Alison. Her determined walk slows down a bit the closer she gets to Alison. And she turns around to look at us for reassurance. We nod our head giving her thumbs up. She just rolls her eyes and continues her journey forward.

I wonder what's going through her head as she moves closer to Satan herself.

Alison slams her locker shut then turns to walk down the hall in our direction staring down at her phone. Somehow everyone in the hall still trembles with fear even when she's not paying them any attention.

Perfect.

Aria quickly move in her direction and slams her shoulder into Alison's, causing her to drop the bag in her hand, and Aria quickly toss the bag in her hand in the same direction.

We freeze at what just happened. Not knowing how Alison will react.

I lean closer hoping to hear what's being said.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry." I hear Aria say in a trembling voice. Some of it looks fake. Most of it I can tell is real.

"What the fuck is your problem!?" Alison yells picking up her phone that also dropped to the ground. After she's done inspecting it for damage, she looks up and makes eye contact with Aria, her eyes widen in surprise, then turns to a glare. "Aria..." She says dryly, but theres something else in her voice that I can't quite detect. Alison looks around the hallway at the students who are running away from the scene, scared to be caught in the fire of Alison Dilaurentis.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." Aria says reaching for the bag that she dropped and handing it to Alison.

Successfully switching the bags.

Yes!

"Clearly." Alison scoffs out while rolling her eyes. "Don't let it happen again or I'll have to end you in front of everyone. Okay!" She says before turning to storm off, I notice that she hesitates for a moment as if she's wanted to say something else to Aria but she shakes her head, and quickly departs, leaving Aria to watch her disappearing figure in confusion.

As Alison heads our way we quickly hide against the side of the wall, and Alison rounds the corner walking right pass us while staring down at her phone.

I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding before a thought pops up in my head...

That's it?

Well that's...disappointing?

No! It's relieving. I was expecting a reenactment of a some sort of horror movie, where Aria's head ended up inside of a locker detached from her body.

We race to Aria, just as she finishes picking up Alison's bag.

"Holy shit I thought you were a goner." Hanna says as we stop in front of Aria.

Aria just shrugs. "I'm alive and well." She plays off as if she's not just as confused.

"For now. We both know Alison won't let you get away with that especially since the entire hallway saw it." Spencer reasons.

Fuck I haven't thought about that.

Poor Aria.

"I don't know, she didn't seem upset." I reason back.

Hanna just stares at me with this unreadable expression on her face before blinking a few times then giving a look of indifference. "We should go, pictures start in like 30 minutes." Hanna says prompting us to all turn to walk away.

-Pictures-

Once we get inside the gymnasium where pictures are being taking, we quickly step in line but luckily for us it's moving relatively fast.

I'm last in line of the four of us, so I get to witness them take their pictures first.

It's sort of funny how the pictures they are taking describes their personality.

Aria takes the most adorable picture. The colors of her outfit is complimenting to her smile. With a simple head tilt she had everyone including the camera man wanting to pinch her cheeks.

Spencer's is a little bit more... conservative. Where she chose to wear a button-up shirt and a blazer to go on top, and a tight smile to compliment the look. She looked like a true future politician.

And Hanna of course has all of the fire in one body, sits down on the stool flipping her hair over her shoulder, giving the camera man a small seductive smirk. Woah, even though I don't think of Hanna that way, she's still smoking hot, and I can see she is just as affecting on guys as Alison is. I look around at the students still in line, most of the guys just stare at her with lust dripping from their eye sockets and the ladies look like they would die to be her...or sleep with her...I can totally see it going both ways.

And I can totally see why she was friends with Alison for so long. Two blonde bombshells hanging out would have weakened my knees.

I'm so zoned out that I didn't even see Hanna finishing her pictures, then walking over to me. "This is it. Are you ready." She asks.

I take a deep breath then shake my head. "No."

She takes a deep breath. "It's simple. You're beautiful so it would be natural. Look at the camera and give your best sex eyes...and don't show your teeth when you smile, it makes you look even sexier."

Sex eyes? What the fuck is that?!

Before I can open my mouth to respond Spencer pushes me out there. "No time to think, just do it." She says hastily.

I take my time walking towards the chair. I feel like I'm walking towards my doom. And I've noticed every eye has turned to look at me.

I hear a lot of murmurs..

'Who is that...?'

'Holy shit she's hot.'

'I so love that top.'

'I bet she stuffs her bra.'

Yes the last one through me for a loop too. I sit down on the stool and watch the camera man stare at me for a moment, almost as if he's in a daze.

"Okay big smiles are you ready?" The camera guy says positioning himself behind the camera.

I look around twice more and notice I have the full attention of everyone. Even some people who were walking by in the hallway.

Shit I might puke.

I take a deep breath and muster up as much courage as I can find...It's not much there so I'll have to pretend.

When I look back at the camera I attempt to give him what Hanna called 'sex eyes' but a little ways through the motion I notice that I don't know what the fuck that is. So my look then turns into one of general curiosity. He asks again if I'm ready and I give a shrug and before I know it he's telling me to smile. I take Hanna's advice and keep my teeth from showing but turning my head so you get the full affect.

Once the camera flashes, signaling the ending of my pictures. I jump out of the chair racing back to the girls.

Holy shit that was nerve racking.

"Fuck Em, that was awesome!" Hanna says pulling me into a bone crushing hug.

It was?

I step out of her embrace with a smile. "Did I do the sex eyes thing?" I ask excitedly.

"Fuck no, you butchered that." Hanna says wiping the smile off my face. "But you looked sexy as hell." Hanna says still bouncing on her toes.

I just stare at her with curiosity. If I didn't do it right then how come they're so happy?

"See that's the look." Aria says pointing to my face. "It gives your eyes a soft innocent look, and then you smiled and it just spoke 'innocent but dangerous at the same time'" Aria says.

Oh. Yeah...well I meant to do that.

Well I didn't but I don't want to ruin the mood seeing as though the girls are beaming at our small victory.

"Well we must rejoice in our victory later." Spencer says looking around for a moment. "Right now we should really see where Alison is, to make sure the second part of our plan works out."

Before I know I'm now bested in the game of 'nose goes'.

I let out a groan. "Oh come on." I say stomping my foot like a toddler, an action Aria had earlier perfected.

"It's called taking one for the team Em." Hanna says. "All you have to do is follow her and see if she uses the makeup."

"And besides she'd notice if one of us was following her." Spencer says logically, gesturing between Hanna, Aria, and herself.

Of course I know that. Of course she wouldn't notice me. It's the perks of being a Wallflower.

"Fine." I huff out before turning on my heels, moving towards the door reluctantly. But I'm stopped by a hand on my arm. I turn around to see Hanna giving me a meaningful look.

"It has to be you Emily." She says in a voice full of determination.

I frown in confusion before realization dawns on me. Okay. It has to be me.

I nod my head and turn on my heels preparing in my search for Alison.

But first...I need to visit the little girls room.

-girls bathroom second floor-

Ahhh. Sweet release. I think it's been ages since I've last gone to the bathroom.

I guess that's way to much information.

Okay enough side talk, I better hurry up and find Alison. As I open the bathroom stall I hear the voices rushing into the bathroom. Voices that sounds and awful lot like...shit Alison.

I quickly pull the bathroom stall door shut before I'm seen, as Alison and I assume Mona walk in.

"What the hell happened?!" Mona yells.

"Don't you think if I knew, I wouldn't be panicking right now!" Alison yells back.

"Okay...okay let's avoid that, let's try not to panic." Mona says. I peak through the crack of the door to see her pace back and forth. Alison is leaning against the sink, gripping it until her knuckles turn white. I can't see her face because her back is to me, but I assume she's probably red in the face by the tone of her voice. "We need to retrace your steps, what did you eat today? What perfume did you use? What makeup did you use?" Mona lists off.

"The same as everyday. I had a soy latte, I used my Tiffany perfume, and my regular makeup bag. Nothing different!" Alison concludes.

"This is crazy...you only have this reaction when you're exposed to cucumbers..." Mona trails off before coming to a halt in her pacing. Let me see your perfume bag and makeup kit." She says holding her hand out expectantly.

Alison rolls her eyes before turning around, handing her bags over to Mona. And that's when I see it. Her face I mean, and boy did we do a number on her. Her face is covered in red blotchy spots. It looks like she's broken out in hives or something. Her lips look a little swollen, nothing on the lines of over the top, I mean she's not anywhere close to the level of Kylie Jenner's. Her eyes are a little puffy and she looks a little disheveled. The look on her face screams hopelessly pathetic.

Now she knows how I feel everyday.

And something inside of me cause a different type of dread. And I start to feel sorry for her actually.

I see Mona bring the perfume bottle to her nose then the makeup. She sniffs them both, a frown forming on her face. "This smells like cucumber." She says holding up the concealer, then the foundation.

"What?! Let me see." Alison says snatching the products out of her hands, sniffing them herself. "What the hell! Someone sabotaged my makeup!" Alison says angrily.

"Are you sure you didn't just buy the wrong product?" Mona asks apprehension filling her voice.

"That's a joke right? I never make a mistake." Alison says before turning towards the mirror. "But someone in this school just made a huge one. And when I find out who switched my makeup I'll ruin their lives." Alison says with determination.

Mona let's out a sigh. "That's fine and all. Revenge on the nerds. But what are we going to do about your face? You've already taken your pictures with your face like that and we need to figure out how we're going to spin this because you're never going to win most beautiful in school with this freaky looking pictures hanging around the school." Mona reasons.

Alison's bubble seems to deflate a little as she turns to face the mirror, eyeing her reflection in the mirror. Her lip turns up in disgust. "I don't know. I don't have anymore makeup and I already took the pictures..." Alison seems to trail off in thought before her shoulders lift up as if she realized something. "Wait aren't you apart of the testing process of that new foundation from Cover Girl?" Alison asks.

Mona frowns at her in confusion while nodding. "Yeah but, it's still in its trial run. I haven't given them my feedback yet." She says with a shrug.

"I don't care. Give it to me..." Alison demands holding her hand out for the product. When Mona gives it to her she quickly turns around to face the mirror, I assume to apply the product to her face.

I can't really see through the cracks of the door how well it's going but based on the approval of Mona I take it it's going well.

Shit! Does that mean it's going to ruin our plan.

No it can't ruin it. She already took her pictures, our plan was a success...right?

Yes! We won...right?

I'm too wrapped up in my thoughts to hear the door open and shut. But when I look back up, and in-between the crack of the door, Alison and Mona have somehow disappeared.

I quickly stumble out of the stall taking a deep breath before I haul ass out of the bathroom to find Hanna and the girls.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Aria says after I explained what happened in the bathroom.

"Look this doesn't mean anything. So what if Alison walks around the school back to normal, at least we have the photos from the school pictures. That's all that matter." Spencer concludes. But before we can all agree to this, we're interrupted by some cheering coming from the gymnasium where we were taking our photos.

We all share a look before running towards the room.

And there standing before us is Alison Dilaurentis herself. Face devoid of any blemishes. Like nothing ever happened. Smiling brighter than anything I've ever seen.

You ask why the crowd is cheering?

Well somehow she's convinced the photographer to redo her pictures, and it's turned into a full project runway situation. The photographer snaps photos of her as she spins around striking various poses as if she's modeling for a photoshoot.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Aria says again. This time her face in complete distraught.

Hanna just has her arms crossed over her chest, shaking her hand at the scene.

And Spencer just looks around uneasily surveying the rowdy onlookers.

What in the hell just happened?

Hanna then let's out a scoff. "Come on let's get out of here." She says turning on her heels, leaving the room. The rest of us quickly file out after her. But as we move closer to the door, there are more people coming in, crowding around and I lose sight of the girls.

Finally making it out, I let out a sigh of relief and as I'm rounding the corner I quickly find myself running head first into someone. Causing me to fall to the floor, knocking one of my contacts out.

Shit! I quickly run my hand along the ground hoping I can find it, but as luck would have it said stranger steps on it as he moves around me.

"Sorry." He mutters as he moves down the hall, my right contact stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

Great. Just great.

I look around to see that half of everything is blurry. And as the moment gets better I realized that I don't have a backup set here with me at the school...

But bright side I do have my glasses...

I stand up and make my way through the hallway towards my locker, but right before I reach my destination some science nerd walking out of the class room pushing a cart with beakers filled with goo and...yup you've guessed it, I flipped right over the cart knocking all of the goo that was in the beakers all over my shirt.

Could this day get any worse?

"I'm so sorry." I hear the voice, only to recognize it as Lucas's.

Even better.

"Em?" He calls out surprised. "Holy shit. I totally didn't recognize you." He says looking me up and down. "You look hot!" He appraises.

"Thanks." I mutter from the ground still lying on my back.

"Oh right." He says holding his hand out, helping me out. "I am really sorry about that. I guess I should look both ways before walking out of a classroom." He jokes pathetically. When he sees my not so amused look his smile turns into one of slight fear. "Right. So uh I'm sorry about your shirt. I have a spare one in my bag if you need it." He says, pulling out a yellow collared shirt. "It's nothing fancy but it beats having to walk around with slimy goo on your shirt." He concludes handing it over to me.

"Thanks." I mutter again taking the shirt from his hand and slipping it on.

I guess the question that would have to wait for another day is, why was he walking around with goo in the first place.

But that's for another day.

With funny squishy noises under my shoes, I walk 5 feet to my locker. Once opened I search my locker for my spare glasses. After I locate it I take out the one contact in my left eye and put on my glasses.

I turn to look at the small mirror on my locker. Great, now that makeover was all for nothing.

"Could this moment get any worse?!" I ask out loud, forgetting that Lucas was still standing right there.

"Uh I don't think you really want me to answer that." I hear him stutter out.

What? Why not?

I turn around to see Alison and her crew walking down the hall..

And it looks like their heading right towards me.

Great.

It's like everything is moving in slow motion. Mona grabs a soda out of a student's hands, shaking it up. I know what's coming, but I'm glued to the floor, and helpless to stop it. She opens the can in front of me and sprays all of its contents on me.

I stand there like an idiot as entire hallway including Alison and her flunky's laugh at me.

"You didn't really think I'd forget what you said in the locker room last week did you?" Mona asks rhetorically as she stares at me with a smirk.

I chose not to respond only wiping the soda from my glasses.

It's only when I look back up making eye contact with Alison, that I see the flash of remorse in her eyes.

But at this moment I don't care. This time shes taken it to far.

"Come on Mona." Alison says in a bored tone. "Let's leave this loser." at this Alison's smirk comes back to her face as she resumes moving pass me, without waiting from a response from Mona. "See you around scooter girl."

The crowd watches her leave, then turns to look at me. Their face expressions range from amusement to sympathy.

"Emily-" Lucas starts but I cut him off by slamming my locker shut and moving pass him.

"I'll see you around." I say cutting him off as I quickly move away from him, ignoring the calls I receive from him.

I race out of the school doors, fleeing from the embarrassing scene, towards my moms car.

Once I'm inside the car I finally release the shaky breath that comes from lungs. I can feel the knot forming in my throat but I will myself not to cry...I refuse to cry over Alison Dilaurentis and her stupid crew.

I take another breath as I pull out my phone and send Hanna a quick text telling her that I had to head home and that I'll see her tomorrow. Once she responds with an okay and a guarantee that she could hitch a ride from Spencer, I pull off and head home.

-Later that night-

I lay across my bed thinking about the events that took place.

My 12 hours of popularity.

My almost sympathy for pulling this prank on Alison.

And now my reason for wanting to take her down.

I always thought that Alison was just some sweet girl deep down underneath her many many layers. But now I see that underneath those layers is just more evilness. And now that I have the opportunity to take her down I'm definitely going to take it.

And this time I won't feel any sympathy. Because if there's one thing I won't do is ever doubt Alison Dilautentis...

I'm interrupted out of my thoughts from a text message from Hanna.

 **Hanna:** _Can you believe this shit! Alison just became the new face of cover girl. WTF is going on!_

 _ **Attachment: 2 photos. (One of Alison with the rashes on her face, the other one with makeup from cover girl on)**_

And at the end of the day, Alison has taken this round. Hopefully this doesn't last for long...

But Rule 1 of warfare.

Never underestimate your opponents.

 **Okay guys, sorry for the delay. I'm working on my timing as far as posting this story faster goes. I'm going to get better I promise. But on another note I really hope you enjoyed this. For the next chapters you will be experiencing wayyyyyy more Emison thats a promise!**


	5. Chapter 5

Alison Dilaurentis Must Die:

Episode 5: A New Encounter.

Part 1

"I can't believe she's the face of Cover Girl!" I hear Hanna say through gritted teeth for the umpteenth time, while filing her nails down aggressively. "How the hell did we let this happen!" She asks again to no one in particular.

She's been on this same rant since we first found out about the Cover Girl add on Monday night, and it's now Thursday night.

Yeah I know. She's driving us crazy. I know we were upset when we found out but Hanna's beyond pissed...she's also jealous. So mix that in a big old revenge seeking Hanna soup filled cauldron and you have a ranting Hanna, who's going to need a visit to the nail salon soon if she doesn't stop taking her anger out on her nails.

I mean we understand her pain.

But that doesn't mean we're not sick of it.

Aria just lets out a huff as a response as she continues to scroll down her phone.

And Spencer just looks at the book she's reading without choosing to respond either.

And Me? What am I doing?

Well I'm glad you asked.

I'm currently pacing back and forth in 6inch heels, with a biology book on top of my head.

For balance purposes.

Why?

Well I'm glad you asked that too. Apparently my footwear isn't appropriate enough to be the queen b of the school.

No respecting girl walks around in gym shoes anymore. If it's not a least 4 inches, they don't go on my feet.

I have to bath, walk and run in heels.

Heels are my best friend...except designer heels, those are the love of my life.

And if you guessed it already, those were the inspiring words of Hanna Marin as she showed up on my door step tonight with Aria and Spencer, carrying a large bag of...yup you guessed it heels.

"Seriously guys what are we going to do?" Hanna asks, calling our attention to her.

"Well I'M going to strangle you if you don't shut up talking about it." Spencer says looking up from the book she's reading, to give Hanna a warning look before she looks back down to finish the page she's on.

"I can't be the only one who's bothered by this!" Hanna huffs angrily. Tossing her nail filer somewhere in Aria's room.

"You're not Han, but you're the only one that's making a big deal out of it. So round one goes to Alison, let's just go back to the drawing board and come up with another plan." Aria reasons as she gives Hanna a small shrug but a reassuring smile.

Definitely the voice of reason in the group.

I stop pacing and turn to look at Hanna. "Yeah maybe if we just-" but I'm cut off by a stern look and her snapping her fingers at me.

"What are you doing? You still have about five more laps in those things." Hanna says redirecting me back to my task.

I roll my eyes and set the biology book back on my head, and continue my pacing, making sure I shoot Spencer a fierce glare when I hear her snicker. Spencer clears her throat and looks down, avoiding eye contact with me.

Yeah. That's what I thought.

"Look we can sit around and complain about nothing but can we please do it with food in our bellies? I'm starving." Spencer says shutting her book and giving Aria a puppy dog pout. Definitely something the little one can't turn down.

Aria just smiles and nods her head. "I could whip us up something." She says sliding down her bed to sit along the edge.

Spencer just gives her an appreciative smile.

"No way! I'm not eating any of that vegan crap you call food. I'd rather us order a pizza or something." Hanna says standing up from her seat.

Aria just rolls her eyes as she also stands up. "Fine. My mom should be on her way home, maybe she'll pick us up something along the way." She says as her hands type out what I assume is a text to her mom.

One by one they file out the room, leaving me standing behind with these stupid heels on and a biology book on my head.

"Wait I want to go too!" I say as I toss the book on Aria's bed, but just as I'm making my way down to the door I find that stupid nail filer that Hanna tossed somewhere in the room. "Shit!" I scream as my heel slips on it and I take a tumble for the ground.

As I lie on the ground staring at the ceiling, but my view is blocked by Hanna, who's standing over me with an unimpressed look on her face.

"Would you stop messing around and come on." She says with an eye roll as she leaves again.

I let out a groan when I hear the door shut behind her. "Sure. No problem." I say but make no move to get up.

Just then the door reopens and Hanna emerges again, this time with a small smile on her face. She reaches her hand out for me. "You're hopeless." She says pulling me up.

I let out a grunt as I'm hauled to my feet, very grateful for her return because I don't think I'd have been able to get up myself.

-downstairs-

"Okay so we're back to square one on the drawing board. How else can we take Alison down?" Hanna ask as she plops down at the table.

"What else can we do? We've already tried to embarrass her by destroying her beautiful image and she just out smarted us by putting on make-up. By only focusing on her looks we completely ignored the better side of Alison, her damn brains." Aria points out reasonably.

"Aria's right. Alison is about her looks, but let's not forget she's also conniving, arrogant, and can manipulate anyone in to doing anything for her...guys and girls...especially guys. And yet guys just line up at the door to date her despite her many harlot ways." Spencer reasons as well.

"So where do we go from here?" I asks stooped.

"We should-" Hanna starts but is cut off by Aria's mom entering the kitchen with her brother Mike following behind her singing obnoxiously loud with his head phones on.

Aria's mom Ella clearly looks annoyed by Mike's one man band performance, but she still offers us a smile as she sets down bags of groceries, and three boxes of pizza. "One vegan Pizza, one pizza with pineapples, and one with pepperoni and sausage."

"Thanks Mrs. Montgomery!" We all say in unison.

"Please, girls. When you're here in my house and not at school call me Ella." She says giving us all a look.

"Okay 'Ella'..." Hanna emphasizes with a wink. "Do you think you could tell me the answers to our test on Friday?"

Ella just lets out a laugh as she shakes her head at Hanna. "Nice try Hanna." She says as she starts unpacking the groceries.

"Oh mom, I could do that for you." Aria says jumping out of the chair she was sitting on, and walking around the counter to where her mom is.

Ella gives Aria a curious look, along with the rest of us.

And we all give her our best at innocent smiles.

"What are you girls up too?" She asks speciously.

"Oh you know the usual...plotting ways to destroy a popular girls reputation." Hanna says with a shrug. Receiving an elbow and a stern look from Spencer.

"Ooo which one do I need to make a check out too?" Ella asks playfully.

"Alison Dilaurentis. We gave her a rash, and she got the face of Cover Girl." Hanna speaks up again this time receiving looks from all of us.

She's going to blow our operation.

Ella eyes widen in shock at this and before she can answer Aria steps in.

"Not that kind of rash mom...just a skin rash. It cleared up within two to three days." Aria quickly jumps in attempting to undo any damage Hanna may have caused.

"Hmm, well you girls be careful. I don't want to have to get involved." She says with a wink as she walks away.

Phew! That was close.

"So where were we..." Hanna starts but is cut off when Mike starts singing even louder.

?"When my time comes.

Lay me gently in the cold dark earth,

No grave can hold my body down,

I'll crawl home to her..." Mike belts loudly as he puts away the groceries that he carried in, slamming things around as he goes.

Aria lets out a huff as she walks over to him, and snatches the headphones off, then slaps him in the back of the head.

"Ow! what the hell was that for!" He screeches.

"Get the hell out of here! We're in the middle of something." Aria explains with an eye roll.

"Oh sorry did I interrupt your little cult ritual meeting, where I hear you're going to sacrifice a popular cheerleader...oh wait do you need a hot younger brother to sacrifice too?" He asks with a cheesy smile.

"Eww gross." Hanna says scrunching up her face in disgust.

"Aww come on Hanna Bananas, we both know you're impressed." He says with a wink.

Hanna just lets out a scoff with an eye roll. "Only in your dreams!"

"Hmm, well we'll be sure that you're the one to tuck me in at night to help ensure those sweet dreams, lord knows that Aria is really crappy at the whole lullaby thing." Mike says sarcastically.

Again Aria smacks him upside the head. "Well at least I'm not taking medication." Aria says taking a jug that he had out of his hand.

"This isn't medication, it helps me build up my testosterone levels so I can bulk up." Mike says, lifting up his arm, showing off his muscles. "Don't get to close I wouldn't want you to get hurt." He says with a smirk.

Aria just slaps him again in the back of the head again. "Don't be an idiot, nobody in their right mind would be attracted to you."

"Hmm don't be to sure." He says shooting a wink at Hanna.

"Please just leave!" Aria says with an eye roll.

"Okay. What do I get for leaving?" He asks.

"MOM!" Aria yells, while giving Mike a smirk in the process.

"Mike leave them alone!" Ella yells from the living room.

Mike just gives Aria an unimpressed look, but he leaves none the less, shooting Hanna a smirk before he disappears out the door.

"What the hell was that about?" Spencer asks as soon as he's out of ear shot.

We all turn to stare at Hanna waiting for her to answer.

Finally Hanna lets out a scoff and she lets out scoff/sigh. "We got drunk at a party and made out one time...now he's like obsessed with me." Hanna says with an eye roll as if it's no big deal.

"Eww Han." Spencer says giving Hanna a look of disgust.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Aria says at the same time, while scrunching up her face disgust.

"That's not the point!" Hanna says slamming her hands down on the table. "We're loosing focus here. We need to come up with a way to destroy Alison. I mean we already tried the looks, that didn't work. Now we need to come up with a plan that not even Alison can use her feminine wiles to get out of." Hanna concludes.

But just as she says that an idea pops in my head. I get up from my chair at the table and walk over towards Aria. "And what's more threatening to a girl who is feminine, than becoming masculine."

I asks holding up the jug of testosterone builder.

And like clock work all three girls eyes light up at realization.

This should be good.

-Thursday Morning-

I walk onto school ground exhausted...and alone.

Me and the girls decided that it was a good idea to not hang out since our plan is to take down Alison and for me to replace her. We want to cut all links to each other just in case one gets caught.

And by one, they mean me. Seeing as though I was never really apart of the group to start it off with, I'm sort of like the "secret weapon."

Words by Hanna Marin.

But I'm to remain unseen with them until this entire thing is done to avoid suspicion.

Especially because of what happened Monday on picture day.

Alison has doubled her efforts to find out who switched her makeup and now the entire school is walking on egg shells.

Including us.

So we must remain hidden in the shadows. And hanging out with the new hot girl, who will be trying to replace Alison, will just draw attention to the girls, and our plan will be destroyed.

So again, here I am walking to school on my own.

These are the moments where I wish I had my scooter.

Damn you Alison.

As I walk to step across the parking lot, my arm is seized into a tight grip and I'm jerked back by a familiar hand.

"If I save your life again, they'll think I'm like your body guard." Lucas jokes as he settles me next to him.

I look at him in confusion. Just then I see a beautiful Mercedes Benz speed pass. I'm guessing it almost hit me.

And of course it's Alison...but she's not alone.

"Who's that guy in the car with her?" I asks, completely ignoring the fact that I almost just died. Again.

Lucas rolls his eyes. "Yeah because you'll need to know the name of your killer when your ghost comes back to hunt him, after he runs you over." He says, then sighs when I give him a warning look. "I'm surprised you haven't heard, it's all the rage of the gossip halls." Lucas says sarcastically as we walk across the parking lot and enter inside the building. "His name is Gabriel Holbrook, star quarterback of Hollis college. Apparently Alison started dating him about two weeks ago. She has now seen the light and only wants to date college guys. Every girl is jealous and every guy is pissed off. Especially seeing as though she's now a famous Cover Girl model." Lucas says with a shrug.

Yup I think we made the situation better.

Sarcasm implied.

"Great." I mutter under my breath, as I stop and open my locker.

Lucas gives me a sympathetic smile as he began to open his locker as well. "Plus side. This makeover you have going on is really doing a number on the school. Apparently everyone thinks your some hot new girl...here to replace Alison." He says with a snicker. "They even have your school picture hanging up in the hall, outside the cafeteria."

What?! Seriously? No one recognizes me?

I guess I really was a nobody.

Better question, why is my picture hanging up?

I open my mouth to ask this question but Lucas reads my mind and beats me to it.

"Your in the running for most beautiful for yearbook this year...well you and Alison." He says with a shrug before turning to dig in his locker.

Woah!

I totally did not see that coming.

I mean, I know Hanna and the gang praised me for my picture...but to be voted miss beautiful AND pinned against Alison says a lot.

I might really need to see this picture.

"Don't look so surprised Emily." Lucas says, amusement written all over his face. "Your a natural beauty. Especially without those glasses on. Smear a little make-up on and your like a walking Victoria secret model." He says with a smirk.

This causes my face to turn a deep shade red at his comment.

No one outside of the girls and Toby has ever complimented me like that.

"See even popular boys like Ian can't even resist you." He says nodding his head to a figure approaching from behind me.

I look over my shoulder to see Ian Thomas, senior star running back, approaching me with a smug look on his face.

Great. Where's Toby when you need him.

"I think I'll take that as my cue to leave." Lucas says grabbing his book and fleeing, before I even have a chance to stop him.

Whimp.

I let out a deep breath, then return to digging in my locker.

So remember that senior that I mentioned a while ago?

The one that hit on me?

The one that Toby had to punch in the nose to get him to leave me alone?

Well it was Ian Thomas.

Hence the reason why I'm already dreading this encounter.

This guy doesn't know how to take a hint.

Even if it hit him in the nose.

"Wow the cold shoulder." Ian says leaning casually against the locker next to me. "I'm really surprised." He adds with sarcasm.

I let out a tired sigh. "What do you want Ian?" I asks without turning to face him.

"I just wanted to talk. Say congratulations on your whole new look." He says with a smile that might seem genuine to the public eye, but very sleazy underneath. "I knew you were beautiful before, but woah...you look stunning." he says, then moves closer to me.

I can feel his breath hit the side of my face.

It cause nausea to float around my stomach.

"I would take that as a compliment, but coming from you...I won't." I say slamming my locker shut and turning to leave. But my arm is seized in his huge hand as he pulls me back, causing me to drop my books on the ground.

"You really shouldn't walk away from me when I'm trying to be nice." He says with a condescending smile forming on his face. "What? Nothing to say without your precious Toby here to protect you?" Ian asks, referring to the many times Toby has stepped in and almost kicked his ass to keep him away from me.

I narrow my eyes at him as I try to pull my arm away from him. "I don't need Toby to be here when I kick you in the nuts." I threaten.

His smirk grows and his grip tightens. "You wouldn't do that." Ian says, pulling me closer. "Admit it, you love the attention I give you. You're irrelevant without it." He says with a smirk.

"God get over yourself. I don't need you or your attention to remain relevant, if you couldn't tell." I say arrogantly.

Which is completely out of my character.

But if I'm being honest I'm feeling totally out of my character.

My anger for him makes me a different person.

Ian just smirks. "This new attitude you have is really sexy." He says with a wolffish grin.

Before I can open my mouth to respond I'm interrupted.

"I think the young lady asked you to let her go." I hear a familiar voice say.

I turn around, putting a face to the voice.

CeCe Drake.

I breathe a sigh of relief at her interruption.

I know I sounded confident before, but Ian's still the star running back of the football team.

He could bench press two of me.

So after I were to kick him in the nuts, he would snap me in half.

"Why don't you stay out of this CeCe." Ian says through gritted teeth.

CeCe lets out a scoff, and folds her arms across her chest. "Fat chance." She says leaning casually against the locker. "But I have a better plan. How about you walk away, or every girl in the school will find out about your 'little problem' inside your pants." She says gesturing down to the zipper on his pants with her eyes.

Ian's eyes, along with mine, widen in surprise at her words.

Oh wow. I never thought that would be the case.

I mean...he's always throwing himself at me, you'd think he would have the 'equipment' to back it up.

But I guess with his aggressive behavior he's compensating for something.

"You wouldn't." Ian argues, but his voice waivers slightly in fear.

"Oh but I will." CeCe concludes with a smirk and knowing look.

Ian seems to have some certain inner debate before he releases my arm and steps back. "See you around Em." He says giving me a forced smile, then shooting CeCe a fierce glare, before stalking off down the hall.

And for the second time in five minutes, I release a sigh of release.

CeCe crouches down to pick my book up, then looks up handing it to me with a small smile on her face.

"Thank you." I say, referring to both picking up my book, and helping with Ian.

"No problem." She says standing up, leveling up with me. "That guy is always causing trouble l'm just glad I came around when I did." She concludes with a shrug.

"Ohhh. So you're stalking me now?" I ask playfully.

CeCe smirks at this and shakes her head. "No I was just wondering the halls before my class started and just so happen to see a damsel in distress." She says with a wink.

"Ah so you're not stalking me, your just my knight and shinning armor." I say teasingly.

CeCe just winks at me. "You got it babe." She says stuffing her hands in her back pockets.

I offer her a shrug. "I could of had worse heroes." I say giving her a sly smile, causing her to blush.

Holy shit

Am I flirting with her?

Are we flirting?

Okay wow, I've never flirted with anyone before.

Focus Emily.

I better stop now before this gets out of hand.

I can only have my attention occupied by one Dilaurentes at a time.

I open my mouth to retort, but CeCe beats me to it. "So nice picture by the way." She says, catching up with me.

What's with this picture everyone's seen but me?

"Uh I wouldn't know." I say nervously, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. "I haven't seen it yet."

CeCe just lets out a low whistle of appreciation. "Shame. It's really breath taking." She says softly.

I just blush red, and give her a look of disbelief.

"Don't believe me?" She asks, and I respond with a shrug. "Come on I'll show you." She says grabbing my head and leading me down the hall towards the picture that everyone keeps talking about.

Once we stop outside of the cafeteria, CeCe drops my hand, and gestures towards the picture.

The first thing I noticed was Alison's picture.

And wow let me tell you she looked gorgeous.

Her hair was flawless...

Her smile...

Her eyes...

Even her skin...

You couldn't even tell she was wearing make-up. It blended so nicely.

No wonder she got to become the next Covergirl model. That picture just screams perfection.

I turn to see the picture next to hers.

Mines.

And woah.

I wouldn't even recognize myself if I didn't remember posing for the picture myself.

I look so...

Different. Beautiful, but different.

I can see why it's in the forefront for running against Alison's,

Where her picture oozes confidence and sex appeal.

My picture is of innocence with an undertone of danger.

They contrast, but together they compliment each other.

I guess I'm silent for to long, and CeCe must take it for dislike, because she quickly steps in attempting to fix the situation.

"If it makes you feel better, this picture is dull in comparison to the real thing." She says nervously.

I blush.

Deeply I might add.

I turn to look at her and offer her a small smile. "Thank you for the compliment." I say then turn to look back at the picture again. "No, It's...nice. I just find it hard to believe that that's me in the picture." I say waving my in the direction of it.

CeCe smirks at me. "Well believe it babe." She says staring at the picture with appraisal.

I just blush and look away not knowing what to say. Lucky for me I don't have to come up with nothing as the warning bell signals for us to get to class.

I turn and give her a small smile. "Well I better go, don't want to be late." I say jerking my head in the direction of my class.

CeCe nods in agreement. "Yeah me to." She says backing away from me in the opposite direction of my class. "See you around gorgeous." She adds with a wink before turning around and making her way out of sight.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding as I watch her disappear.

Is it possible for CeCe Drake to like me?

Is it possible to have a small crush on her too?

God my head is spinning with all the possibilities. This day is just becoming one surprise after another.

Before I can analyze things further I hear the bell signal again above me.

"Dammit." I mutter as I run to class.

I open the door to Mr. Fitz class and all eyes turn on me. And I'm rooted in spot by all of the stares that pin me there.

"Uh...sorry I'm late." I say shifting from foot to foot nervously.

Mr. Fitz stares at me with a look of wonder and impressiveness, before shaking his head to clear whatever thoughts that floated through his head. "It's fine Miss Fields, please take your seat." He says motioning to the chair in class that belongs to me.

I nod my head and make my way to the empty desk and notice another one that's empty as well. That also belongs to Alison.

Hmm I wonder where she could be.

I also notice that every eye in the class has yet to leave me alone as I make my way past the students to my chair.

They range from Amazement, to envy, and to.. dare I even say it... lust.

"Okay class, I'm sure Miss Fields would like it as much as I would if you all would turn your attention back up front." Mr. Fitz says trying to return the focus of the class back on him.

"It's not our fault she's hot now." Some guy name Ben says, causing the guys surrounding him to agree loudly and high five him.

He's on the swim team with me. He's pretty good to, he's just and idiot when it comes to everything else.

"Hmm, well Miss Fields maybe...what did you describe her as..hot? But she has an A in my class, so she can afford to focus on her looks, you on the other hand cannot." Mr. Fitz says, causing the class to laugh at Ben in return who just shrugs and sulks in his chair.

The class resumes as normal with the exception of people occasionally looking back at me.

God if this isn't embarrassing I don't know what is.

I've never had so many people staring at me.

This makes me miss being invisible.

Hopefully our next plan will take down Alison, so I can get back to my normal life of being a loser.

-After School-

"So lets go over the plan again." Hanna says.

Spencer just lets out a low growl as she rolls her eyes at Hanna.

This is the 10th time we've discussed the "plan." I know it inside and out.

"We put the powder in Alison's morning latte." I say with a sigh. "I'm supposed to wait for the barista to look away and slip it into her drink. And if I need help distracting him or her, I call for back up." I explain.

"Okay what type of Latte does she normally order?" Hanna quizzes again.

I just let out a sigh and roll my eyes. "A nonfat Caffe Latte." I say automatically.

Hanna seeming pleased with this my answer gives me a proud look. "Okay you're ready, lets do this.." she says as we all walk towards the building, but she quickly stops us at the door. "Shit here she comes?" Hanna whisper loudly as she pulls us down behind the bush outside the coffee house.

We watch as Alison and Mona walk pass into the coffee house. Strutting in their fancy high heels and fancy expensive glasses.

Once they disappear I let out a deep breath preparing myself for what is about to happen.

"Don't chicken out on me now. Get in there." Hanna says pushing me out of hiding.

As I stumble out of the bush, I just roll my eyes, keeping my glare to myself as I enter the coffee house. And as luck would have it, Andrew Campbell is working behind the counter. Already prepping Alison's latte.

I spot Alison and Mona facing away from me as they chat up two guys I'm guessing is from Hollis College because I haven't recognized them from our school, and they don't look old enough to be considered adult adults.

I quickly turn to Andrew shooting him my most charming smile. "Hey Andrew...I didn't know you work here." I say attempting to make small talk.

He just looks at me strangely. "I've been working here for almost a year now. You've bought coffee here every Sunday with your mom. How could you not have known that?" He asks incredulously.

"Oh. Right. I just meant that it's good to see you. I haven't seen you around school in a while." I say attempting to cover up my slip.

He just raises his eyebrows. "Well maybe that might have something to do with your new make-over." He says teasingly. "Which I might add looks nice by the way." He says with a sheepish grin as he finishes both Mona's and Alison's latte.

I just blush red. "Uh...thank you." I barely manage to say without stuttering.

"So what can I get you." He says, as he starts to scan the crowd to call for Alison to come and collect her drink.

"Um..." I say looking around for help. That's when I see the help wanted sign in the window. "Uh actually I was wondering if you guys were looking for help?" I asks quickly catching his attention.

He turns to look at me momentarily forgetting about Alison. "You looking for work. I'm sure my boss would love to higher you. With the right recommendation of course." He says with his best attempt at flirting with me.

Oh my gosh this is just wrong on so many levels.

I have to swallow the bile that rises in my throat before giving him my best attempt at a smile. "That would be amazing if I had one." I say flirting back, placing my fingers lightly along his arm.

He just smiles and shoots me a wink before turning around to grab some applications that were behind the counter.

I take this time to grab the jar out of my bag and slowly pour some of the powder into her Latte. But as this is happening I hear a powerful voice interrupt me.

"Where the hell is my Latte!?" Alison says angrily, causing me to jump and pour way more of the powder than I meant to into her latte.

Shit!

I quickly put away the jug, then mix it into her Latte as best as I could before Andrew turns around with a not so impressed look on his face. "Order up for Alison Dilaurentis." He says tiredly while giving me an apologetic look.

She then saunters up to counter and takes her Latte, not before shooting him a saucy look. "About damn time. And don't expect a tip either." She says while waking away, but not before shooting me a curious look, as if she recognized me, and I turn my head away hoping she didn't catch a glimpse of my face.

When she exits I let out a deep breath.

I'm in the clear.

"Sorry about that. I guess I got a little distracted." He admits apologetically.

"No it's totally my fault. I definitely distracted you." I say shooting him a sheepish look.

"But it was well welcomed." Andrew quickly admits flirtatiously.

I just give him a tight lipped smile. "Well I really must be going. Thanks for helping me out." I say even though he doesn't know what exactly he helped me with, or what I'm thanking him for.

"No problem." He says and I start to walk away. "Oh and Emily.." he says catching my attention. "Please fill out the application. We could use someone with your dedication working here." He says sliding the application across the counter.

I give him a small smile while taking the application, and quickly exit the building. Once I'm out I let out a deep breath I never realized I was holding, but that relief didn't last for to long because I was quickly bombarded by the girls.

"How'd it go?" Asked Spencer.

"What took you so long?" Asked Hanna.

"Shit that was close!" Said Aria.

But all these words were spoken at the same time.

"It went well, I had to distract Andrew so I could put it in her shake. But I do believe I'm being considered for a job there. And yes it was a close one, Alison almost recognized my face, but I think all she could see was the back of my head." I conclude, my best attempt at answer every single question they asked me.

That seems to satisfy them because they all take a collective deep breath.

"So my intel tells me that Alison has a date tonight with her new boy toy, and I was thinking that maybe we should crash it?" Hanna says looking down at her phone.

"Okay that's fine, but I have to go to Mike's lacrosse game at five." Aria says sadly.

"Her date isn't until eight, we have nothing but time to kill. We can hang out at my house in the mean time." Hanna says surprisingly understanding.

They all nod and we take our leave before we watch the execution of plan 2.

-At Hanna's house-

"So did you guys see Sydney's shoes today? Can you say two seasons ago?" Hanna asks with a scoff as she shakes her head, while flipping through her magazine.

I just shoot her a saucy look over my shoulder, giving her a strange look before shaking my head and turning back to watch a rerun episode of Full House.

"I'm sure we had better things to do today Hanna than stare at Sydneys shoes...like I don't know learn." Spencer says as if speaking the obvious, not looking up from the book in her hand.

"Oh I'm sure you learned a lot today, like what color was Caleb's eyes, and how they matched his perfectly ironed tucked in shirt." Hanna teases with a smirk on her face.

I would have ignored the comment if I didn't see Spencer freeze at the mention of this guys name.

Hmm interesting..."Who's Caleb?" I ask with interest, sitting up, tucking my legs under myself.

Spencer flushes a deep red before giving Hanna a scowl. "Just some guy who's obsessed with Hanna."

"...and who Spencer just happens to be obsessed with herself." Hanna retorts, sticking her tongue out at Spencer teasingly. "And he's not obsessed with me. He just wants to fuck me, which is totally different from wanting to date me. It's perfectly normal, and a natural reaction when guys see me. And Caleb is no different" Hanna says casually flipping the page to her magazine.

You know to be honest normally I would be upset about her blatant arrogance, but in this case she's so right.

And at least she speaks as if it doesn't bother her that boys worship her body for sex and nothing else.

I guess you're wondering why I'm so surprised.

Well Hanna is so loved by everyone, I would have expected her to believe that everyone just loved her for her, and not because they wanted something.

I guess it speaks volumes, because regardless of how clueless Hanna seems, she still remains blissfully aware.

"Could you speak more crudely. And whatever. I don't like him. He's just some annoying kid who's trying to out compete with me for Valedictorian." Spencer says with a shrug as she returns to reading her book.

"Yeah right, we're only in tenth grade, who's already worrying about graduation and valedictorian besides you Spence." Hanna asks incredulously.

"Uh colleges...?" Spencer questions like it's the obvious answer.

"Whatever. All I know is, you want to jump his bones and he'd let you if you actually showed interest." Hanna says with a shrug.

Spencer rolls her eyes. "I don't want to jump his bones. I want to kick his ass in science." She points out.

"Wow that's some kinky foreplay Spence." Hanna tease, I let out a laugh as Spencer glares at Hanna.

"Eww Han. And on that note I'm raiding your refrigerator." Spencer says shutting her book and fleeing the room.

I let out a small chuckle at there banter as I turn to finish watching tv.

"And don't think your off the hook missy, I saw you today talking to Alison's sister CeCe. I thought you said you didn't know her." Hanna asks.

Shit. Busted.

"Uh...I don't. She was just complimenting me on my picture in the hall." I try lamely to save face.

"Yeah right Em, she was holding your hand." Hanna says tossing a pillow at me, hitting me in the back of the head.

"Hey! Ouch that hurt." I say dramatically rubbing my head.

"Don't lie to me!" Hanna says angrily.

Fine whatever!

"Fine. I know her." I admit.

"Then why did you lie to me?" Hanna asks with a frown.

I let out a sigh. "Truthfully. I just didn't want to bring her in on this plan to take down Alison. Bad enough I feel bad about not telling her how I truly feel about her sister, I don't want her to feel like I'm using her too." I admit.

Hanna just nods her head slowly. "Okay I get that." She concedes easily. "But there is a question brewing in my mind." Hanna says suspiciously.

"Uh shoot..." I say slightly nervously.

"Do you like the other Dilaurentis?" She asks.

And I...freeze.

I wasn't expecting that.

I really don't have an answer for myself.

I let out a deep sigh before turning to face her.

"I uh...I really don't know Hanna." I say with a shrug.

Hanna just nods her head in understanding. "Okay. Just be careful Em." She warns gently.

"Okay." I respond softly.

"Alright Hanna I get that your mom is on some healthy kick but you guys seriously need to invest in something other than carrots." Spencer says entering the room with a plate of veggies.

"I don't make the groceries list...I don't even eat the food. Why do you think I raid your house all the time." Hanna says with a shrug.

Spencer just rolls her eyes before setting the tray down. "We better get going, Aria should be finishing up with Mike's game...well that is unless you want to go Han, I'm sure Mike would love it." Spencer says with a cheeky grin.

"Ha ha very funny." Hanna says climbing off the bed and grabbing her purse. "God you make out with a guy one time and suddenly you're in an arranged marriage." Hanna mutters to herself as she makes her way past us and out the door.

Me and Spencer just snicker as we follow behind her.

- **Plan 2-**

This is insane.

I can't believe this is happening right now.

Oh...what's wrong you ask?

I'm currently hiding outside in a bush with Spencer and Aria as we wait for Hanna to find us a table in the packed restaurant Alison is having her date at.

She's been gone for almost 30 minutes, and I think I'm getting hives from hiding in this bush so long. Or poison Ivy, I can't really see what color this rash is.

"God what is taking her so long?" I hear Spencer grumble to my right.

My sentiments exactly.

"Maybe we should just go in and see. I mean what if Alison has her in a choke hold or something. What if she made her." Aria says, worry creeping up in her voice.

Spencer just scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Please, the only thing that has Hanna in a choke hold is probably the wings she stuffing down her throat." She concludes before standing up dusting herself off. "I'm going inside, I'm done playing peekaboo inside these bushes."

"What if Alison sees you?" Aria asks with wide eyes as she grabs at Spencer's arm. "I mean I'm itching to but I don't want to get caught."

Spencer just rolls her eyes again. "Then she see's us, she's not the only one who likes to eat. She'll think it's a coincidence, not a plot to spit on her food." She says stepping from behind the bush and making her way inside.

Aria lets out a scoff before she turns to look at me with a questioning gaze.

I just give her a shrug before scurrying after Spencer.

I put on my sun glasses and hat that's supposed to be used for a disguise before pushing the door open to see the restaurant alive and well.

No wonder we sent Hanna ahead of us, this place is so crowded that I can't even hear my own thoughts with the buzz of noise that's wafting through the air.

I scan the crowd looking for people that I should recognize.

Like Spencer for one.

She just walked in like 5 seconds ago.

I spot Spencer over by the hostess station talking...and when I say "talking" it looks as if they're arguing. Spencer pointing at some empty tables as the hostess shakes her head in protest, causing Spencer's glare to harden.

I let out a chuckle before turning to scan the crowd again.

Then I spot Alison sitting over in the corner scrolling down her phone not paying attention to her date, who's clearly yapping on about something.

I quickly look away attempting to not draw attention to myself, before I stop and shake my head scolding myself, when I realize that I'm wearing a disguise and she most likely can't see me in this crowded place.

And then I spot Hanna at a table by herself so I swiftly move towards her, but the closer I get the more I realize she's not by herself, she's with that girl from the mall...

What was her name again?

Oh yeah Maya.

I frown in confusion as I approach the table.

Both of them are talking in hushed whispers and when Hanna catches me coming she shoots Maya a look to silence her then forces a smile my way.

"What's up Em." Hanna says casually as I walk up to the table.

"Hanna." I say evenly, with a pointed look. "I've been waiting for you for like 30 minutes..." I say trying to keep my voice even. "But I can see you've been with a friend...Maya right?" I asks playing dumb.

"Yeah." Maya says turning and giving me a full grin. "But I feel I'm at the disadvantage here. You know my name but I don't know yours." She says moving slightly closer to me.

Out the corner of my eye I can see Hanna tense up, as she shoots Maya a glare so fierce I can feel the heat from her eyes.

"Uh it's Emily." I says sticking out my hand.

Fuck. Is that something cool people do?

Do people even shake hands anymore?

Maya just gives me an amused smile as she takes my hand. "It's a fitting name, for a pretty girl." She compliments, causing me to blush. "So Emily, what's with the glasses and hat, are you supposed to be spying on someone or something." She jokes.

Again out the corner of my eye I notice Hanna tense up, this time her eyes widening in fear at being caught. When I look to her for answers she clears her throat and lets out a forced laugh, and I quickly follow giving a forced laugh of my own. Hoping to down play my nerves.

Maya just smirks at this and gives a shrug before she drops the subject. "I hope I wasn't keeping Hanna from anything, we were just catching up." She says with an odd look aimed at Hanna. "Talking about are old hang out and old friends..." she says cryptically.

Which I'm sure holds deeper meaning to Hanna.

And in response Hanna just glares at her, before she forces another smile. "But don't worry about it, Maya was just leaving. Weren't you?" She asks with a head tilt.

Maya frowns for a moment before nodding her head. "Yeah...right, I was just taking off." She says grabbing her bag off the table. "But before I go, I wanted to make sure I extend the invitation to a party I'm throwing tomorrow around nine." She says taking a pen and paper out of her bag and writing on it. She turns and hands it to me. "This is my address. Hopefully you guys can do a cameo, even if it's brief." Maya says with a sly grin. "See you around." She adds with a wink before she takes off.

I stare at the paper in my hand, at the written address.

First her number, then her address. This girl sure does like writing on paper.

And she's very forward.

"Wow could you say slut, she's practically throwing herself at you! Can't she take a hint!" I hear Hanna say with a scoff.

Oh yeah Hanna.

I turn and face her with a glare. "What the hell Hanna, we were outside waiting on you for half an hour." I say pacing a little. "I think Aria has poison Ivy." I conclude with a frown.

Hanna rolls her eyes. "Don't be so over dramatic. I ran into Maya and I've spent the last 30 minutes trying to convince her to leave me alone. I'd rather have an itchy butt, than hold a conversation with her any day." She says playing with the straw on her drink.

I roll my eyes at this and take a seat next to her.

"Where's Spencer and Aria?" She asks looking around.

I look over towards the hostess station to see Aria dragging Spencer away and quickly over towards us.

"Speaking of the group." I say gesturing towards them.

Aria has a concerned look on her face

And Spencer...well Spencer looks pissed.

"What the fuck Hanna." She practically scream once she gets closer to the table.

"You want to yell any louder I don't think Alison heard you yet." Hanna whispers loudly, with an eye roll.

I look over to see Alison's only a table away. We're diagonal to her, so it's hard for her to spot us unless she's looking for us. But it's easier to spy on her. Hanna found the perfect table.

"Don't try to turn this around on me, we've been waiting for a lifetime for you to come and get us. Aria can't stop scratching her butt." Spencer all but yells.

No pun intended.

Aria's eyes widen in mortification. "Can we please keep the discussion off of my butt." She all but begs.

Spencer just lets out a sigh, before she turns to look at Hanna again. "Who was that girl you were chatting with?" She asks suspiciously.

I already know how Hanna feels about Maya, and answering personally questions about her. So I'm curious to see what she says to Spencer.

But Hanna face gives nothing away. "I was convincing her to give us this table since she was sitting alone." Hanna says with a shrug.

"And it took thirty minutes?" Spencer asks incredulously.

"She was a tough nut to crack." Hanna says with a shrug.

"Okay guys lets not fight about this everything's okay...and I'm sure it's not poison ivy. It'll go away." Aria says before shifting uncomfortably. "Eventually." She adds

"Yeah Aria's right we wouldn't want to draw any unwanted attention to ourselves." I add, glancing over at Alison who has yet to notice us.

Emphasis on the yet.

"Lets just all focus on what we came here to do." Spencer says with a sigh as she sits down in a chair, followed by Aria.

We all turn to look over at Alison and her date Gabriel or Holbrook or whatever they call him, he's not all that impressive anyways.

He has the typical athletic build, and stupid boyish smile but it's nothing special. And judging by the look on Alison's face she would agree.

She looks between a mixture of boredom and something else I can't decipher. Holbrook continues to try and draw her attention but Alison just keeps giving him a forced smile. It seems that no matter what he tries its futile, so I'm confused on how are we going to know if the testosterone powder worked or not.

From what I can tell right now, this is going to be a long boring night.

We've been waiting for something to happen but it seems that Alison is just perfectly normal.

It seems like hours have passed when it's only been minutes, the bar has picked up and patrons have filled the semi empty seats.

The room is half full of people wearing blue and yellow and the other half burgundy and yellow. It looks to be some sort of basketball game going on.

Well this place is going to be rowdy I can tell you that.

We all turn back just in time to see a waitress place a basket of fries on the table in front of Alison and a promising quickly to return with their main dish.

I didn't think much into it before we see Alison take a handful of fries in her hand stuff them in her mouth uncharacteristically. Holbrook in the process widens his eyes in shock as he watches Alison inhales the basket of fries before turning to flag down another waitress to request for more. She turns to Holbrook without responding before grabbing his beer and chugging it down. This time Holbrook opens his mouth to object but Alison holds up her hand to stop him as she chugs the rest down. She slams the beer jug on the table and lets out a loud burp, then wipes the side of her mouth. "Yuck that was gross." Alison says shaking her head as if trying to get the taste out her mouth.

"Uh I wouldn't know I barely had a sip." Holbrook says with a nervous laugh, to which Alison just shrugs and turns to face the basketball game on the television.

We all simultaneously turn to face each other with wide open mouths as we watch Alison's display of aggression.

This is what we've been waiting on.

And I couldn't make this up if I tried but Alison is literally a different person...it's like she's a...well a guy. She's been eating everything in site, slouching in her chair, she even kicked off her high-heels. She's literally a different person. It's so...weird.

And un-Alison like.

Alison seems to be caught up into the game that's happening because she's watching it on the edge of her seat, along with the rest of the people in the bar. Every time some guy in the blue jersey scores she, along with half the bar jumps out of their seats high-fiving each other.

Holbrook seems to be caught up in watching Alison in what seems to be confusion and shock. They haven't interacted since they both sat down. Alison has become the life of the party but not in the Alison Dilaurentis way more like in a Jason Dilaurentis way, if he was at a sports bar.

I turn to look at the girls and they seemed to be caught between amused glances and shocked faces.

"Damn. I did not expect her to develop an entire different personality." Spencer whispers in amazement.

"What are you talking about? This is amazing Spence. Holbrook is totally about to dump her after this." Hanna says excitedly. "I mean look at her, she's practically one of the guys." She points out, at that very moment that Alison along with everyone else jumps up excitedly as someone scores. Alison's even chest bumps with someone.

She flops down excitedly in her chair and reaches over to high-five Holbrook, who forces a smile while he hesitates to high-five her back.

"I think we've seen enough. Once word gets out about her date I'm sure the line of

Guys lining up to date her will disappear to nothing." Aria reasons.

Hanna pouts as she crosses her arms across her chest. "Aww man I wanted to see if she scratches herself."

Spencer rolls her eyes for the umpteenth time as she regards Hanna. "Well as entertaining as the sound." She draws out sarcastically as she slides out of her chair grabbing her bag on the way. "We all know how this ends. We should get out of here. I'm a bit tired and tomorrow's school. I can't afford to be late."

Aria stands beside her, before me and Hanna follows suit. We quietly sneak out of the bar, praying to go unnoticed by the blonde. But once I we get to the door, I chance a glance back at Alison to see her laughing and joking with the people around her.

She looks almost...carefree.

It's sort of gratifying to see her that way.

I guess becoming someone else just works for her.

Even if it involves acting like a totally different gender.

I smile to myself as I quickly exit the restaurant/bar.

Spencer drops me off last since I live close to her with a small smile and a see you later as I exit the car and run quickly into my house, hoping to slip in quietly enough so not to wake my mom.

When I get upstairs I flop silently on my bed.

Today was a long and...weird day, but I'm glad I managed to get through it.

Now it's time to rest forever so I can drop of into dream land.

Just as I'm about it shut my eyes, my phone chimes from Hanna.

 ** _Hanna: Go to Alison's twitter page now!_**

Hanna texts.

I let out a sigh before pulling up the app on my phone. I click on her profile. and before I can get caught up staring at her profile pic, I began to scroll down her page only to find a handful of tweets towards Alison...

 **Loverboy287** : Hey Alison you should really call me sometime.

 **PaulYoung17** : Great game tonight right ;)

 **HankyPank** : I would love to take you out sometimes.

 **David49** : marry me! Please!

What the hell happened in that restaurant after we left?

 _ **Hanna: she's even more popular than she was before! Fuck we've made it worse!**_

I just let out a sigh before tossing my phone on the bed.

 **Rule 2 in warfare.**

 **Never, ever, underestimate your opponent.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alison Dilaurentis Must Die:**

 **Episode 5: A New Encounter.**

 **Part 2.**

"We suck." Hanna sighs out as she flops backwards on the bed.

Since you haven't been here I'll try my best to bring you up to speed.

After our little 'testosterone' prank on Alison, some how she's managed to get more dates in one night than the entire cheer-leading team did in two years.

It was quite embarrassing really.

For us I mean.

It was impressive for her.

But what we can't quite figure out is, how the hell did this happen. We've been trying to figure it out for the past hour.

We've gone from confusion, to anger, and now to self loathing.

Well Hanna's self loathing, we're kind of watching her just self-destruct.

So far she's thrown her pillows, books...well she only has like two books so that really wasn't all that damaging, but then...brace for it...she also threw a shoe. That's when we became concerned and Spencer and Aria decided to pin her to the bed until she calmed down.

Now she's lying here in the final stage of self-loathing.

We've been trying to talk to her for almost thirty minutes and all we get in response is a scoff and a mocking laugh.

Maybe she just needs words of encouragement.

I let out a sigh as I stand up, picking up the pillow that she tossed on the floor, and crawl onto the bed next to her, pulling it into my lap.

I let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry that our plan didn't work out, but we can't beat ourselves up about this...we did the best we could." I say trying to cheer her up.

Hanna just lets out a scoff and turn to face away from me on the bed.

So this might be harder than I thought.

"Okayyy." I say, before turning to look at the girls for help. "Jump in at anytime."

Spencer gives an un-sure shrug and Aria looks sympathetic.

"How about we go downstairs and raid your refrigerator for all the chunky monkey ice cream we can find, then pig out while watching re-runs of Friends...how's that sound?" Aria asks, giving her her best attempt at making Hanna feel better.

Hanna lets out an even louder scoff and sits up in her bed. "I don't want to get fat...I want to forget my name, not cry in shame." Hanna says with a whine.

"Well how about we raid your parents liquor cabinet instead." Spencer suggests.

"Please. All my mom have is the wine that she uses to impress the house guest...and my dad took all the good stuff when he..." Hanna suddenly stops rolling her eyes at herself.

I wait for Hanna to finish her sentence but she doesn't, which causes my interest to peak.

Hmm what happened to her father...?

But before I can dwell on the subject longer Hanna speaks again.

"Just...it's not happening. Not here." Hanna finally concludes

And just like that an idea pops in my head.

"Well if we can't get the booze here why don't we just go to it." I say excitedly.

"Uh in case you haven't noticed Em, none of us are exactly 21, we can't buy our own beer." Spencer points out.

"Who said anything about us buying our own...I'm sure a certain party will have plenty of booze for us to get lost in." I say a growing smile taking over my face.

Hanna face scrunches in confusion before she glares at me. "Hell no, not happening."

"Come on Hanna. Lets go out...get wasted...and stop worrying about Alison for once. It's been two weeks and every weekend we're drawing up plans. Lets live a little...or at least get drunk trying." I reason.

Which is so out of my character.

But truthfully I've never been to a Rosewood party before, and I've been curious about it ever since Maya gave me the invite.

And why the hell not?

I'm feeling adventurous tonight.

"Okay guys you wanna clue us in on what's going on?" Aria asks.

"Or better yet what party?" Spencer follows up. Both she and Aria take turns looking back and forth from me and Hanna for answers.

"Uh the strange girl from yesterday, you know the one who gave us her table? She invited us to her party tonight." I say filling in for Hanna who looked slightly nervous at their questions.

Hanna gives me a grateful smile before frowning at me.

I shoot her an apologetic look.

"Well a party does sound fun." Aria says interrupting me and Hanna's silent conversation.

"I'm in." Spencer says with a shrug.

Yes! Two down one to go.

"Han?" I ask hopefully.

Hanna rolls her eyes before flopping back down. "Fine!" She frowns out.

Yes! Party city here we come.

"Okay. The party starts in like thirty minutes, so we should all probably start getting ready." I say getting off the bed.

I stand in the mirror looking myself over at the fifth outfit I've tried on.

Normally I'm not so aware of what I'm wearing but ever since my conversation with Lucas and CeCe and all the wondering stares on me, I've become slightly more conscious of my appearance.

It's annoying actually.

But it's like I can't help it...I've become a mini version of Hanna.

"Em hon, you have a friend waiting for you downstairs." My mom says as she peeks her head in my bedroom door. When she sees me her eyes widen.

"Oh Em..." she says tears forming in her eyes. "You look so beautiful."

I roll my eyes, fighting the blush that's creeping up my cheeks. "Mom..." I trail off embarrassed by all the attention she's showing me.

"Sorry." She says sheepishly noticing my embarrassment. "Should I tell her to come up?" She asks.

"Uh..." I say glancing at myself in the mirror once more. "No, tell her I'll be down in a sec." I say smoothing my skirt down before shooting my mom a quick smile.

"Okay." She says, giving me another once over before retreating downstairs.

I let out a final sigh as I grab my bag and make my way downstairs to a waiting Hanna Marin.

She's texting on her phone, but when she hears the clacking of the heels I'm wearing she finally looks up at me, her jaw dropping instantly.

"Holy crap Emily you look hot." Hanna says shoving her phone in her back pocket. "You're even wearing 6 inch heels..." she says gushing. "I feel like a proud mom." Hanna says fanning her face, mock crying.

I roll my eyes at her, hiding my smirk. "Shut up Hanna." I say grabbing my leather jacket off the hooks by the front door. I then turn to face my mom with a small smile. "The party is across town, at a cabin by the woods, I left the address on the counter in the kitchen, and Hanna's number at the bottom of it for just in case purposes..." I trail off not knowing what else to say. Oh yeah. "Um...so what's my curfew?" I ask my mom.

"Hmm...I'm not sure, we've never had to establish one." My mom says with a laugh. "11:30 sound good?" She asks/ suggests.

"Make it 12:00 and your the coolest mom on the block." Hanna steps in with.

My mom puckers her lips, and tilts her head to the side, debating on whether or not to agree. With a sigh I can see her caving in. "Fine. But no later than 12." She instructs, pointing a stern finger at me.

"Thanks mom." I say walking over and kissing her on the cheek, before jetting to the door towards Hanna.

Hanna holds the door open for me as I walk out.

I'm watching my steps in these tall heels, but something shinny catches my attention in my driveway.

"Woah." I say once I see the car she drove. "Your mom let you take her car?" I ask circling the shinny brand new Audi.

"Nope it's mine." Hanna says hitting the lock on the door. "My dad bought it for me...probably a constellation prize or something." She says with a shrug like it's no big deal before jumping into the drivers seat.

I frown in confusion. "Uh don't you mean consolation?" I asks getting into the passenger seat.

"Whatever, you knew what I meant." Hanna says rolling her eyes, while backing out of the driveway.

We ride in an awkward silence for a moment before I finally break it.

"Are you and your dad not close or something?" I asks timidly.

Hanna scoffs and again rolls her eyes. "That's an understatement." She mutters.

"Do you mind if I asks why?" I asks quietly again.

Hanna glances at me before turning to face the road again.

And for a moment we're both just really silent.

Awkward silence that is.

Then finally she lets out a deep breath.

"My mom and dad are divorced. He left my mom two years ago, and he already has another family. A loving wife and a step kid that's my age...she even looks like me. Blond hair, blue eyes. Except she's perfect; perfect grades, perfect horse riding hobby, and perfect boyfriend." Hanna says with a self-deprecating laugh. "He said he'd never abandon me after the divorce but he's never around and he misses all of my cheer-leading competitions...he's just never there. So this." She says gesturing to the car. "It's his way of saying sorry." Hanna says shaking her head.

I let out a small sigh as I reach across the car and grab her hand off the steering wheel taking it into my own. "I'm sorry Hanna that you have to go through this." I say sincerely.

I can never imagine the pain she must feel. And I hope I never have to.

Hanna gives me a small smile before taking her hand from mines and placing it back on the steering wheel. "What about you? Are you close to your dad?" She asks, quickly wiping the loan tear that fell down the side of her face.

"Yeah. We are. He helped me become the swimmer I am today. We watch sports together and we share the same sense of humor." I say looking down at my hands in my lap. "But my dad's a marine so we never see each other. He's stationed somewhere else and he's always being shipped out for deployment, and sometimes it's hard to get in touch with him...but I love him dearly and I know he loves me." I say with a sad smile. "I just miss him is all." I conclude with a shrug.

Hanna nods her head in understanding, before she throws a quick glance my way. "Seems like we both have some daddy issues. Maybe it's only fitting that we drown out our sorrow with booze." Hanna says with a playfully smile.

I shake my head at her trying to hide my smile.

Only Hanna can turn a serious situation into something to smile over.

Woah this cabin is huge!

We've just pulled up outside the cabin and Hanna has been driving around for the past 10 minutes looking for an empty spot. Finally! We find one and she quickly swoops in before someone else does.

"Alright-y." Hanna mutters as she kills the engine, then turns to look at me with a excited smile on her face. "Are you ready?" She asks.

"Um..." I start, looking around at all the party goers walking into the house. "To be honest I'm a little nervous." I admit.

Hanna just gives me a reassuring smile. "Don't be. You'll be fine. Just avoid the jungle juice, open cups/bottles that you haven't filled yourself, and any jerk who can't keep there hands to themselves and you'll be fine. Promise." Hanna say placing her hand over mine and giving it a small squeeze before releasing it and exiting the vehicle.

"Okay..." I say to myself. "You can do this." I take deep breath and follow Hanna out of the vehicle and up to the house.

Once we step up to the door, Hanna knocks loudly and the door is swung open by none other than the host herself.

"Hanna, Emily...I'm so glad you two could make it." Maya says opening the door widely and stepping aside. She smirks at Hanna then offers a huge smile as I walk past her, even going as far as checking me out, biting her lip approvingly, which causes me to flush a deep red.

"So drinks are in the kitchen, lake is open and out back, please avoid the master bedroom... any other rooms are up for grabs, and other than that enjoy the party." Maya says with a shrug as she shuts the door behind us. When she brushes past us she brushes my hand. "Find me later so we can share a dance." Maya adds a wink for good measure before dissolving into the crowd.

Again I blush and fight to keep the smile off my face as Hanna lets out a scoff and shakes her head.

"That bitch just screams desperation." Hanna says folding her arms across her chest. "I know you're new to the whole Lesbian dating scene but trust me Emily, you can do way better than that."

I debate whether or not to ask her why, but think wiser of it as I search the crowd for familiar faces.

"Look there's Aria and Spencer." I say pointing to the two figures standing in the corner of the room talking in hushed voices. "Lets go." I say grabbing Hanna's hand, dragging her across the room.

"Hey guys." I say as we approach them.

"Where have you guys been? We've been waiting for almost an hour." Spencer says in an agitated tone.

Aria just rolls her eyes. "It was more like 10 minutes. Spence is just stressed because she just bumped into Caleb, almost spilling his drink on him." She says with a small chuckle.

"That's not funny." Spencer says through gritted teeth.

I bite my lip to contain my smile, and Hanna lets out a small laugh.

"Maybe you should ask him to dance to make up for it." Hanna suggests, nodding in the direction of Caleb leaning against the wall on the other side of the room.

Spencer begins shifting on her feet nervously. "I don't know..." she all but stutters out.

"Look Jake's over there too. I'll go with you so we both can dance next to each other." Aria says placing an encouraging hand on Spencer's shoulder.

Spencer offers her a smile of appreciation before they both take off.

"Who's Jake?" I ask when they're out of earshot.

"Aria's ex-boyfriend. She broke up with him for Fitz." Hanna says watching them interact, smirking at Spencer's awkwardness. "He's supper hot and a martial arts instructor...I don't see what she sees in Fitz. I think it's an authority thing." She says with an eye roll.

"Maybe it's a brain thing. Aria is super mature for her age." I say in defense.

"So join a bingo club, don't bang Mr. Rogers." Hanna retorts back.

This time I roll my eyes looking back to the crowd, watching the dancing teenagers move in mass.

As I scan the party I notice a couple of stares being tossed in my direction. I do my best to ignore them. I also notice that a lot of them are directed at Hanna who seems to be in her own world as she nods her head to the beat of the music, looking out at the crowd herself.

"So why aren't you dancing with some hot guy? It's not like your not wanted...I mean every eye in here is on you right now." I ask Hanna.

Hanna just gives a shrug as her eyes catches someone walking through the crowd and into the kitchen, which causes my interest to peak a little more. I turn to see Samara Cook, the head cheerleader of Rosewood High walking towards the kitchen. But before I can ask another question she turns to face me.

"I'm going to get us something to drink." Hanna says with a forced smile, before fleeing to the kitchen, I'm assuming following after her.

"Okay... I'll just...wait here." I trail out with a sigh.

I lean against the wall waiting for Hanna, for maybe about thirty minutes. In the mean time I have turned away from six awkward stares with six awkward boys. I have turned down five dance offers, and now some guy is currently in my face trying to convince me to make out with him.

"So as I was saying...I'm really good friends with the owner of this cabin, she even said I can use her master bedroom." He says wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at me.

I bite my lip to keep the bile that's rising in my stomach down at his offer. "Thanks but I'll pass." I say with a forced smile.

"Aww come on girl...you know you want..."

Just then all of the party goers seems to freeze at the same time.

All their attention seems to have turned towards the door.

When I look over I see Alison Dilaurentis standing in the doorway with her sidekick Mona on her right.

The light of the party giving Alison an undeserved Halo...which also in turn makes her seem even more breathtaking then she already was. Both of them giving the crowd the once over before they look away, and the crowd resumes to normal.

But I can't seem to take my eyes off of her.

She's wearing a yellow top, and tight jeans that hugs her thighs and all the right places.

Her hair is down in loose waves pass her shoulders. And I can't help but watch as she carelessly flips her hair over shoulder, with an uncaring look.

I really hate the fact that she's so beautiful.

And I really truly hate the fact that I can't look away from her.

And as if on cue my phone goes off, and I send a silent prayer to the heavens that I'm saved by the bell. I look down at the caller I.D to see that Toby is calling. Yes! Even better!

"I really have to take this call." I say putting the phone to my ear even though I haven't pressed answer yet. "So will you excuse me Jason." I say making my way pass him.

"It's Mason!" He yells after me.

But by that time I'm far away from him making my way through the kitchen and to the backyard where the pool is. "Hello?" I answer, putting my finger in my other ear to hear him better.

" _Em..!_ " I hear Toby breath into the phone. " _It's good to hear your voice_." He sighs out.

"Hey Toby...is everything okay?" I asks slightly concerned.

" _No..yes...everything's okay, it's just been a rough week with my grandpa, and I really just miss your voice._ " He says sweetly.

I blush at his words, not even containing the smile on my face. "I miss you too Toby."

" _So how's your week been? Don't leave out any details._ " He asks playfully in a Valley girl voice.

Where would I began.

I glance around having a small inner struggle on whether or not to tell him the things going on, but quickly think wiser of it. This is so not the time nor place.

"Oh. You know same old same old. Just school and swimming." I say as nonchalantly as possible.

Toby lets out a small laugh but then he clears his throat. " _Uh Em, what's that noise in the background._ " He asks in confusion.

"Uh what noise?" I ask playing dumb.

" _The music...I can hear that obnoxious Chain Smokers song. And I know you hate that song so why are you listening to it? And why so loudly._ " Toby inquires.

"Ohh that music. Uh well...I'm sort of at a party." I say nervously.

I hear Toby spit out whatever he was drinking. " _Wait you're where?!_ " He sputters. " _Who are you and what have you done with my friend?_ " He jokes, but I can tell that he's serious.

"Ha ha...very funny." I say sarcastically.

" _Who's party are you at?_ " He asks curiously.

"Some girl name Maya...she invited me and Han...ahem." I play off saying Hanna's name by clearing my throat. "She invited me when I ran into her at the mall."

" _I didn't think we had a Maya at our school. The only Maya I know is the one that goes to Rosewood Academy_." Toby says.

"Uh I think we might be talking about the same Maya." I say nervously.

" _Wait how do you know Maya?"_ Toby asks.

"Uh..." I say looking around at the people lounging around the lake or sitting around the bond fire. "Remember we uh...we ran into each other at the mall." I stutter out. "How do you know her?" I ask trying to change the subject.

" _She used to hang out with Jenna._ " Toby Answers.

Jenna used to hang with Maya? But so did Hanna. So does that mean Hanna used to hang with Jenna before they all became popular.

Wow that's a story I would love to find out about.

" _So how's the party going?_ " Toby asks.

"It's uh-" I start but I trail off when someone bumps into me causing me to almost lose my balance.

"Woah I got you pretty lady." I hear a familiar voice say to me, causing an unpleasant shiver to go down my back.

I turn around to come face to face with non other than Ian Thomas himself. "Ew get your hands off of me." I say in disgust as I step out of his hold.

" _What's going on Em? Is everything alright?_ " I hear Toby say on the other end of the phone.

Crap Toby can still hear me.

"Uh yeah...just some creep not knowing when to take a hint." I respond, the entire time giving Ian a tight smile.

Ian just smirks at me and stuffs his hand in his pocket while taking a sip of the cup in his hand, indicating that he doesn't plan on leaving just yet.

I roll my eyes at his behavior, refraining from shaking my head. "Hey Toby, I'm going to have to call you back." I say hanging up the phone not waiting for his response. "What the hell do you want?" I ask in an irritated tone.

"I saw you standing out here alone and figured I'd come and keep you company. I know you're not used to being at actual parties, other than the pity parties that you and Toby throw each other." Ian says with a smirk.

I frown at him. "Screw you. Why don't you go find some unwilling drunk girl to go hit on...maybe then you'll have a chance at actually getting somewhere tonight." I retort back.

Ian just smirks and takes a sip of the drink in his hand. "Well how about you let me make you a drink and we can make that fantasy happen." He says with a twinkle in his eye that causes me to have another nervous shiver. "But in all reality that's actually why I came over here, not to pick a fight but to offer you a drink and a dance." He says with a smile.

I stare at him for a moment before letting out a sigh.

His smirk grows as he looks at me like I'm finally caving to his advances.

"Even if all the party goers turned on me and tried to drown me in the lake, I still wouldn't go anywhere near you, even if you were the only one trying to save me." I say with as much malice as I can muster up.

Ian then frowns and steps towards me. "One day you're going to regret what you say to me." He says in a low dark voice.

Despite the chill that just ran down my back I still manage a brave look. "Is that a threat?"

His frown morphs into a sinister smirk. "That's a-" he begins but is cut off by another voice.

"Hey Emily!" I see Maya walking towards me with two cups in her hand. "I've been looking for you everywhere." Maya says cheerfully, while offering me a cup, then finally turning to see Ian standing by me as well. "Sorry am I interrupting something?" She jokes, but with a tone of curiousness.

I force a small smile and shake my head while excepting the cup. "No. Ian was just leaving." I say turning to give him a pointed look.

Ian smirks at me then Maya before nodding his head. "Great party Maya." He says saluting his cup to her as he moves past us. "See you around Emily." He throws over his shoulder before disappearing into the house.

All he gets from me is a withering glare as I try and fail to keep my emotions in check.

Maya who has been watching his retreating form, finally turns to me. And I quickly fix my face into a strained smile "I really hope I wasn't interrupting things. I know I hate when people cock block when I'm trying to pick up a pretty girl." Maya jokes seriously.

I shake my head and offer her a smile. "No trust me you weren't-" I trail off slightly.

Wait. Did she just say pick up girls.

"Did you just say pick up pretty girls?" I asks with a curious smile.

Maya smirks at me and sips from her cup. "Yeah. Why? You don't have a problem with that do you? Me liking girls?" She asks knowingly.

"Uh no...that's perfectly fine." I tell her honestly.

Maybe it's because she's the first person I've ever met that's open and out but I feel some sense of closeness to her.

Maya smiles brightly. "Good." She says taking a sip from her cup. "So Emily how much alcohol do I have to give you before you finally tell me the truth on how you met Hanna." She asks with suspicious look.

I do my best at playing confused. "I already told you, we have science together." I lie smoothly.

Well as smooth as I can.

"Yeah I remember that. But I've known Hanna for three years and never has she ever hung out with someone from her science class unless she was using them for something." Maya retorts, rendering me speechless.

I do my best at playing coy, then take the cup in my hand and down the entire thing.

"Woah slow down cow girl...that's jungle juice, you'll be on your ass if you keep chugging those." Maya warns with a slight chuckle.

Jungle juice? Didn't Hanna warn me against it.

And open cups that I didn't make myself.

Well it tastes amazing so I don't know what she's talking about.

I smile at Maya despite myself. The alcohol already having its affect.

I've never had a drink before so it's safe to say that I'm definitely a light weight.

Maya smiles back at me. "So Emily, I have another question for you. Are you into Hanna?" She asks as she circles me.

I raise an eyebrow at her question, curious and confused as to why she asked this question. "Hanna is just my good friend. I have no romantic feelings towards her." I say as I watch her circle me. "What about you? You two seem to have some tension going on...is it sexual?" I asks curiously.

Maya lets out a laugh. "Not in the slightest. Hanna definitely has her hands tied with other potential love interest." She says cryptically. "But that's a story for another time...lets go dance." She she grabbing my hand and leading me back in the house where the teens on the dance move to the music.

As the music picks up temp into some crazy techno song Maya starts dancing to the beat. But like a big goof, I stand there awkwardly not knowing what to do.

Maya must have sensed my hesitance because she stops moving and gives me a look of confusion while tilting her head. "What's wrong?" She asks curiously.

"I uh...I've never really danced at a party before." I admit. Which I'm sure breaks my character of having it all together, but at this point I'm more embarrassed about just standing here while Maya dancing circles around me.

Maya's look of confusion morphs into one of disbelief. "You're friends with Hanna and yet you've never danced at a party before?" She asks suspiciously. "So my theory on knowing Hanna for another reason still stands." She says with a smirk.

If this would have been any other time I would have royally stuck my foot in my mouth.

But I think having that drink in my system took some of the edge away from my nerves so I'm able to do some quick thinking.

"Uh...no...it's just that normally we get drunk and end up in someone's basement playing spin the bottle." I lie easily.

Maya stares at me for a moment before a smile breaks out on her face. "That does sound like Hanna." She says as if she's convinced.

The music slows down and I watch as everyone grabs a partner and begin to sway to the music.

I then turn to Maya and let out a nervous laugh. "Uh...should we go get another drink?" I asks turning to leave the makeshift dance floor.

But Maya quickly grabs my arm pulling me back. "What? You don't slow dance either?" She asks teasingly, before wrapping her hands around my waist and pulling me closer to her.

I give her a small smile before draping my arms lazily around Mays's shoulders, swaying gently with her.

Because of our apparent height difference, it's easy for me to notice the blonde beauty standing over by the wall by herself.

I watch as Alison leans against the wall with a look of disinterest at everything around her. While Mona on the other hand, flirts shamelessly with a hot senior from our school. Then Mona grabs his hand and drags him away towards the stares, and I frown slightly as Alison yells after her, but her voice falls on deaf ears.

Alison lets out a deep huff and leans against the wall, folding her arms across her chest.

I watch as countless of people walk by giving Alison confusing/admiring stares. But she ignores them all by sending them fierce glares or rolling her eyes.

For her to be the queen of high school parties, it sure does look like she's not enjoying herself.

"You okay Emily?" Maya asks pulling me out of my staring once she notices I'm not paying attention to her.

"Uh yeah." I say shaking my head to clear my track of thoughts. "I'm fine." I give her my best smile hoping that she will drop the subject.

Which she does.

Maya gives me her best smile and pulls me closer. "So I have to ask...and please feel free not to answer me but... I've been totally flirting with you and you haven't all the way pushed me away yet...so it's left me wondering...do you like girls?" She asks timidly. Almost as if she's afraid to offend me.

"No, I don't mind you flirting with me...and to answer your question...I'm-" I start but I'm cut off by an angry looking Hanna standing right behind Maya with her arms folded across her chest, and a scowl on her face.

"Hey Hanna...where have you been?" I ask with a nervous smile, dropping my arms from Maya's shoulder and taking a step back to create some distance between us.

"Where have I been?!" Hanna asks incredulously. "I told you to wait over by the wall while I got us drinks, when I came back you were gone." She ends with a glare shooting directly at Maya.

"Okayyyy. I can see you two need some time to talk." Maya says moving away from us. "We'll finish this discussion later." She adds with a wink directly at me before disappearing.

I watch as she leaves, desperately wishing she'd come back. I can see by the look on Hanna's face that I'm in big trouble.

"So are you enjoying the party thus far?" I ask innocently. Well as innocently as I can.

"Don't even try it Fields! Why are you dancing with her?!" Hanna all but demands as she steps into my personal space, jabbing her pointer finger into my shoulder.

"Well, while you went to get my 'drink'..." I air quote the drink while motioning to her empty hands. "I ran to a bit of trouble and Maya helped me out. So I gave her a dance." I conclude with a shrug.

"You're not supposed to be talking to her." Hanna says, her words coming out slightly slurred.

"You know, you've never told me what's your problem with her you just keep jumping down my throat every time she talks to me. What's the big deal? She seems nice." I asks folding my arms over my chest defensively.

"Seems...being the operative word." Hanna says angrily. "She's a back stabbing manipulative bitch, who'd trade on you when her popularity is in jeopardy!" She says as she tries her best to control her breathing.

Woah.

She must really hate her.

"Okay Hanna calm down..." I say placing my hands on her shoulders. "I was just dancing with her, not giving her the numbers to my social security." I joke slightly while shaking her shoulders.

Hanna deflects my hands from her shoulder as her frown deepens. "It's not funny Emily." She says with a serious scowl.

I let out an aggravated sigh as I run my hand through my hair. "Hanna how the hell am I supposed to hate her if I don't know why I'm hating her?!" I ask in exasperation.

Hanna just stares at me before shaking her head in resignation. "Lets go find the other girls...I'm sure they're looking for us." She says turning to leave.

But before she can very far I reach out and grab her arm. "I know we're supposed to just be in this for taking down Alison, but that doesn't mean that I don't consider you a friend. And so far I've been open and honest about everything that you've asked...I guess I just really expected the same from you." I say with disappointment, as I move pass her to the kitchen to snag myself another drink.

-1 hour later-

Hanna was right.

I probably should have stayed away from that jungle juice. But I swear it's the best thing that I've ever tasted.

I'm currently on my fourth cup and seeing maybe two of everything...?

Nope that was just a set of twins. I'm good to go.

I stumble out the doors of the kitchen and lean heavily against the wall to help keep my balance. Slowly sliding along it until I find a comfortable place to rest.

Yup this is good. I'll just hold the wall, it'll keep me up.

I let out a sigh as look out into the crowd.

I spot Aria talking to that Jake guy, and Spencer is currently having a heated debate with that Caleb guy, although it could be seen as flirting, depending on how you look at it.

I can't seem to spot Hanna anywhere. Ever since I sort of blew up at her she's disappeared out of sight. I think she's angry at me.

I can't blame her. I was caught slow dancing with her enemy. What kind of friend am I?

I let out an even bigger sigh as I rest my head heavily against the wall.

And that's when I hear it...

That familiar voice. One that tried to hit on me.

That Mason guy.

"Hey. I noticed you over here standing by yourself and I was just wondering would you like to dance?" Mason says approaching Alison.

Alison tilts her head to the side, looking him up and down. She surveys him for a while. Taking in his small stature and slightly muscular frame before she peaks again. "What's your name?" She asks with a smirk on her lips.

I tilt my head curious to see what that smirk actually means.

It doesn't look good.

"Mason." He states, shifting foot from foot.

Alison smirk never falters. "Mason huh? What a suiting name. Well Mason do you know who I am?" She asks.

"Uh...yes? Yo-You're Alison Dilaurentis." Mason stutters out.

This is ridiculous.

She's not that intimidating.

"That's right darling. Thee Alison Dilaurentis. And you should know that using that tired pick-up line wasn't going to work on me." She says her smirk growing more sinister. "But since this is a party and I'm in a happy mood, I'll allow you to tuck your tail between your legs and walk away." She says dismissively, but effectively scaring him.

Mason quickly turns on his heels and stumbles through the crowd trying to get away as quick as he can.

Wow that was such a bitch move.

Alison lets out a small sigh, seemingly proud of herself.

And I let out scoff, shaking my head at her antics.

Maybe this would be a good time to finally introduce Alison to the new me.

I mean what else am I doing at this party and there's no time like the present.

Okay I can do this.

I take a large swig of my drink before fixing my face into a neutral expression.

"Impressive." I say with a steady voice. Surprising myself at how calm I appear.

Alison turns her head to look at me raising an eyebrow in confusion "Excuse me?" She commands in question form.

"That was pretty impressive, the way you scared that guy off like that. For a moment I thought he was going to shit his pants." I say with a forced smirk.

Alison then turns to size me up with a raised eyebrow. She stares at me for a moment before a frown overtakes her expression.

"I'm sorry who are you?" She asks, placing a hand on her hip.

"Emily." I say with a small smile before raising my cup up to my mouth, taking a small drink for encouragement. "And before you ask, yes I do know who you are, Alison Dilaurentis." I says with a smirk.

"Well Emily, I've never heard of you before." She says with a sarcastic smile.

She's upset. I can tell by the look on her face. I'm getting under her skin.

Just like I wanted to.

I just laugh and sip from my cup again.

"I'm surprised. I assumed you knew exactly who I was." I say tilting my head, feigning surprise.

"And what the hell is that suppose to mean?" Alison asks placing a hand on her hip.

I smirk again while giving her knowing look. "Let's not pretend you don't make it your business to know every face in rosewood. I mean...how else are you going to know the names of your victims as they bow down to you." I say, knowing her game better than herself.

Alison eyes flash a dangerous look, and it looks like it physically pains her not to attack me. "Well I guess that refutes your little theory seeing as I don't know you at all.." She says through gritted teeth.

Sure she knows me, she just doesn't recognize me from all the make-up I have on.

But soon she will...

I'm counting on it.

Because while Spencer and the gang may have a plan to infiltrate the popular girls clique, I think I'm coming up with a plan of my own to get under Alison's skin.

"Hmm well that doesn't sound like the Alison Dilaurentis I've heard of." I say giving her a quick nod. "Well here's to an apology for assumptions." I say holding up my cup in salute.

Alison doesn't take my bate. She just stares daggers at me.

Now it's time to switch it up a little.

I let my smirk fall and I look away from her breaking eye contact with her. Showing her a sliver of vulnerability.

I let out a sigh as a down the rest of my alcohol. "I should apologize for what I'm saying. I'm drunk and ready to go home. I just thought if I talked to you for a while it would take my mind off of some things. I guess I went about it the wrong way." I say with a sheepish smile and a shrug.

Alison's glare drops at my confession. And I can see her expression softening. She gives me the once over before a teasing smile appears on her face. "I see your dressed in red...did your boyfriend take off with some cheerleader?" She ask.

Boyfriend? Yeah right.

And I can help but let out a scoff as I voice my thoughts. "Yeah right." I mutter under my breath.

Everyone always assume that a girls sadness equals boy trouble.

Or it could be the fact that I'm wearing red and sitting alone, drunk, and picking on the popular girl.

I'd have girl trouble before I have boy trouble.

But I won't tell her that. I'll just change the subject.

"Why are you over here alone. I'm sure a girl of your stature should have guys flocked all around you, eating out the palm of your hand." I say my teasing tone creeping back up.

Alison just roll her eyes at this. "I'm not much in a feeding mood." She says sarcastically.

"Hmm I couldn't tell." I say teasingly. "The way you just bit that guy's head off." I joke.

That's when her facade breaks and a genuine smile makes it's way on Alison's face. And she tilts her head appraising me. "You're kind of a bitch." She says bluntly.

Pot. Kettle. Friend.

"Hmm," I grunt out, appearing in thought. "Seems like we're two peas in a pod right now. But to my defense, I'm drunk." I say holding up her empty cup. "You on the other hand might just stay that way afterwards." I say truthfully with a smile.

Alison just shakes her head and lets out a chuckle, as she leans against the wall letting out a sigh.

I can tell I'm getting to her, even if she pretends that I'm not.

We both sit in silence for a while, but before I can open my mouth to say anything, the one person I loath more than anything is now standing in front of us.

Well more in front of Alison than me.

Alison looks confused, as she frowns and stares at him not saying anything.

Ian looks from Alison to me, giving his best at a charming smile "Hey Emily, you look nice." He says eyeing me up and down.

I physically have to stop myself from hurling. He just saw me earlier and now he's acting like I've just arrived.

That's not weird.

This must be some ploy to get Alison's attention. Pretend that we're cool knowing we're really not.

But two can play at this game.

I just give a head nod back, with a tight lipped smile. "Wish I could say the same to you Ian." I say tilting his head.

Ian just stares at me with a smirk. His eyes telling me how much he wants to rip me apart right now. I'm sure my eyes say the same thing.

Alison looks back and forth between us before she rolls her eyes. "Can I help you with something?" Alison ask breaking our eye contact.

Ian turns back to face Alison giving what I assume to be his most charming smile. "Well I noticed your friend wasn't around you, and you've been standing here by your lonesome for almost over an hour. I wanted to see if you would care to dance?" He asks, his boyish smile growing full-blown creepy.

"You know I'm starting to think I have approachable written on my forehead. First that creepy little boy... then her" Alison says tossing a look towards me.

Rude.

But I keep my face neutral and instead of responding, I offer her an uncaring shrug. . "...And now you." She says looking Ian up and down in mild disgust. "What makes you think I should take you up on your offer?" She asks placing a hand on her hip.

Ian just smiles with a shrug. "I'm not asking for you to marry me, just a simple dance. I know you came here to have fun, and I'm sure standing against the wall for an hour doesn't constitute as such." He says reasonably. "Just one dance?" He says his smile turning slightly sincere.

Alison rolls her eyes, letting out a sigh, as she seems to have an inner debate with herself.

She turns to look at me, but at the moment I'm staring ahead debating whether or not to warn Alison against Ian's pervertedness. I turn to face her again and I have to contain myself from causing a scene. Alison on the other hand seems to be in a challenging mood as she raises a perfectly arched eyebrow at me. But I choose not to take the bate, instead I give her a smile and raise an eyebrow right back.

Alison rolls her eyes in response.

"Sure." she says redirecting her attention towards Ian.

Ian smiles and takes her hand and pulls her towards the makeshift dance floor.

An upbeat song begins to play and all of the moving bodies seem to flow along to it. And I lose Alison into the crowd.

Ian is such an ass.

He's ruining my opportunity at inserting myself into Alison's life.

From where I'm standing I can't see Alison, they're too deep into the crowd.

I let out a sigh as I move forward and toss myself into the throng hold of people.

Honestly I have no idea what I'm going to do when I get to her. Will I push him away from her? Or will I just watch?

I'm not sure.

The one thing that I do know is that I need to find her. I just really don't trust Ian, and I should have never let her go with him.

As I make my way into the crowd. I bump into the one person who I should be avoiding right now.

"Woah Em, be careful there. I almost spilled my drink on you." Maya giggles out.

She leans heavily against me and I grip her shoulders to steady her.

"Maya. Geez, how much did you have to drink? I thought with you being a pro at throwing parties you'd be better at pacing yourself." I joke with a serious undertone.

"I totally am." Maya says with another giggle. "I swear this is like my second drink." She says attempting to lean into me.

I hold her at arms bay as I stare at her eyes. Even though I'm slightly drunk myself, I'm in better shape than she is. I can definitely see the unsteadiness of her gaze as she tries to look me in the eyes. She has a hard time standing on her feet and constantly trips over the air as she attempts to stand in front of me. Her skin is also hot and clammy, it could be from the heat of the party but I'm sure it's from the pills she's consumed.

"Maya are you high on pills or something?" I asks calmly.

Maya shakes her head vehemently. "Of course not. Just drinking tonight. You can even ask Ian, he made my drink for me." She says with a giggle.

Just alcohol my ass, she's higher than a kite right now. She can't even stand on her feet by herself.

I'll just ask Ian what did he mix in her drink, because I'm sure she's...I'm sure she's drugged.

Fuck I think he drugged her.

I panic as I search the crowd for Alison and Ian, but come up empty. That's until I spot them moving towards the kitchen.

I look around the crowd looking for someone to help me.

That's when I spot Andrew dancing among the group of people.

"Hey Em...what are you doing here?" He asks in surprise, he then looks at Maya in my hands and frowns in confusion.

"Andrew I really can't talk right now...but I need a favor. Do you think you can help get her up to her room right now? I'll be there to check on her in a moment, it's just something else I have to do right now." I rush out in a plea.

"Uh sure thing." Andrew says taking Maya from me. He hesitates for a moment before picking her up bridal style and making his way up the stairs.

Once he's up the stairs I hurry through the crowd to get to the kitchen.

That's when I spot them standing over by the alcohol beverages.

Alison is slowly raising the cup up to her lips and Ian is watching her carefully.

But right before she can take a swallow I quickly crash into her causing her to drop the cup, and spill the drink all over her nice yellow shirt.

"What the fuck!" She screeches, looking down at her now ruined shirt. "What the fuck is your problem?" She yells again finally looking up, giving me a glare.

She's pissed.

I would be too. I ruined her drink and clothes. But I'm sure she'd thank me later once she finds out what I saved her from.

"Whoops." I say with a giggle. "I guess the alcohol is finally getting to me." I lie with an uncaring shrug.

"Whoops? Is that all you have to say? You just ruined my favorite shirt and all you have to say is whoops?" She asks stepping closer towards me menacingly.

"Don't worry Alison, I'll buy you a new shirt. Just let me make you another drink. We can take that walk." Ian prods attempting to stop the situation from escalating, by grabbing her arm before she walks away.

"Fuck your drink." Alison says pulling away from his grip.

Thinking quickly, before Alison decides to take him up on his offer of anything else he has to say, I step in.

"Here let me take you to get cleaned up." I say grabbing her hand, pulling her away.

"No!" Ian says grabbing her other arm again. "Stay. My mom owns a chain of Laundromats I'm sure she'd be able to help clean that up." He says almost pleadingly.

"And my mom used to work at one. I'm sure she knows more." I lie again, pulling her back towards me.

"Stay out of this Emily." Ian finally says his eyes flashing dangerous.

In your dreams perv.

"She's off limits Ian." I reply back through gritted teeth.

Alison just stares between both of us with a confused look. "Let me go." She says pulling out of both of our grips. "I can take care of myself." She says straightening her clothes.

Alison turns to look at me with a look of determination. "Come on." She says grabbing my hand. "We don't have long before this stain sets in, and you better know what your doing." She says pulling me towards the stairs, leading me towards a vacant bathroom.

As I'm being pulled away, I look over my shoulder to give Ian my smuggest look.

In response, he shoots me a menacing glare.

"I cannot believe you just did that!" Alison says as she storms into a bathroom. I watch as she walks over towards the sink and turn on the cold water, trying to rinse the stain out.

I do my best to remain reasonably calm even though I can feel the bile rising in my throat from the adrenaline rushing through my veins. I take a deep breath as I shut the door, giving us privacy.

I can see the steam practically coming off of her. She's fuming mad.

But that's to be expected. I lean causally against the wall, as I watch her closely. I've never been this close to Alison before and have complete control of the situation. It's unnerving actually.

"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?" Alison asks angrily.

I watch her rinse off her shirt in the cold water. I'm trying to remember what my mom would do to get a wine stain out her favorite shirt.

The least I can do is help clean her up.

"Cold water won't help." I say moving off of the wall towards her.

My movements falters as I reach over and grab the bottom of her shirt motioning for her to lift her arms up. When she complies, I takes her shirt off and run it under extremely hot water.

As I concentrate on my task at hand, digging into the cabinets around grabbing products to help clean this shirt. Out of the corner of my eye, watch as Alison awkwardly just stands there shifting back and forth in her black lace bra.

I have to take a deep breath to calm myself. Because even though this is a serious moment. I can't help but notice how hot she looks.

"Your really good at that." Alison comments, breaking me out of whatever daydream I was in. "Did your mom really work at a Laundromat?" She asks curiously.

Laundromat? What the hell is she talking about?-

Oh yeah, I forgot I told her that.

I snort out a laugh, shaking my head. "No." I say as I ring out her shirt. "She's a stay at home mom, who just knows her chiz."

When I turn around to hand her back her shirt I can see Alison fighting back a giggle. I frown in confusion. "Did you really just say chiz?" She asks, causing the me to realize how dirty that word really is.

A smile makes its way onto my face despite how immature her behavior is. "I guess I did." I say with a shrug, before tossing her shirt towards herself. "There, it's as good as new."

Alison examines the shirt with an impressed look.

"Thanks." she mutters, slipping it on.

I watch as she shivers from the dampness of the shirt.

I let out a sigh as I take off my leather jacket and hand it over to her. Alison takes it with great hesitation, and I roll my eyes at her behavior. "I don't have cooties I swear...I got that shot in like the fourth grade." I say with a teasing smile.

Alison's slips the jacket on.

There's an awkward silence that hangs in the air.

Well until Alison breaks it. "Are you ever going to tell me why you did it?" She asks dryly.

I stare at her for a moment, debating whether or not to tell her.

I know if she finds out what Ian was going to do to her, she'd skin him alive. And I'd love to see that. He deserves it. But he also deserves a punch in a face. Which I plan to give him.

And besides, who's going to believe me without any proof.

No one.

Especially not Alison.

I let out a sigh, before giving a small smirk with a shrug. "I guess that's just one secret that Alison Dilaurentis won't find out about."

Alison frowns in confusion before opening her mouth to respond. But before she can respond I open the door to the bathroom cutting her off.

"I better find my ride...I think I've partied enough." I rush out as I exit the bathroom.

I quickly make my way away from the bathroom and start peering inside of the bedrooms looking for Andrew and Maya. Finally at the end of the hall I open what I assume to be the master room and spot Andrew staring out the window as Maya rests heavily on the bed, tucked in nice and neat.

I let out a sigh of relief. "How is she?" I asks as shut the door behind me.

Andrew quickly looks away from the window and walks over towards me. "She's fine. I gave her some cold water and she fell asleep as soon I set her on the bed. I don't think she was given a date rape, I think it was some sleeping pills, and mixing it with the alcohol might explain her loopy behavior." He observes. "Besides the slurring of her words, she's not exhibiting any odd behavior beside fatigue. And her sweaty skin as cooled down. But I'm not sure, I'm no doctor." He says with a shrug.

Sometimes having science nerds in your corner helps.

I sigh in relief. "Thank god." I say looking over at her. "And thank you for helping me. Your amazing." I praise.

"No problem Emily. But I would like to know what happen?" Andrew asks curiously.

Me too.

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Trust me if I knew I would tell you." I say honestly.

I'm supposed to be drunk right now and forgetting about my fight with Hanna. But instead I'm slowly sobering up and playing superhero to a bunch of popular girls.

I looks over Andrews shoulder to check on Maya. "Do you think she's safe in here by herself?" I asks, slightly afraid to leave her on her own.

"Yeah, she should be. Especially if you put a sock on the door to ward off any horny teenagers from using this room." He jokes with serious undertone.

I nod my head before walking over to the drawer to grab a sock to hang on the door. "Lets leave her to sleep it off." I say opening the door and gesturing for Andrew to follow me. Once he's out I lock the door from the inside before shutting it and wrapping a sock around the door handle. Insuring that no one will get in.

Now I need to find Hanna and the gang, and get the hell out of here.

But first I need to make a stop.

I storm into the kitchen, where I see Ian and his football lackeys laughing and joking around.

I stalk over to him and he looks to me in surprise before a stupid smirk comes across his face. But before he can get any words out I deliver a blow so fierce to his nose, that I'm sure I felt it crack under my fist.

"Bitch!" He screeches as he grabs his nose, trying to stop the blood from flowing.

"That's for Maya." I say through clenched teeth. "And that..." I say kicking him in the jewels, making good on my promise from earlier that day. "Is for Alison."

Ian drops the ground clinching his legs together. "What the fuck is your problem?!" He asks spitting out blood as he wipes at his nose.

"You're my problem! I know you're desperate to get a girl, but I didn't think you'd stoop so low as to drugging them." I yell in his face, getting the attention of most of the people in the kitchen.

Ian looks around nervously. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about! I didn't drug anyone, and I don't have too." He yells back.

"Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night." I say through a scoff. "All I know is I'm going to call the cops on you and your asshole of groupies if I catch anyone of you doing this shit again." I say turning to his group of friends who all look around nervously.

I then walk over and tip over the juice bowl spilling all of it contents down the drain. "Asshole." I yell.

I'm consumed by rage.

I'm sure most of my actions is encouraged from the four cups of alcohol I've already consumed.

I look down at his face again, and before I can react I'm pulled away by a tiny hand on my arm, that drags me through the kitchen.

"Hey let me go!" I say trying to pull out of their grasps, but for someone so tiny, they're mighty strong.

"We need to get out of here now, before the entire football team decides to use you as a practice dummy." Aria says dragging me through the kitchen and out the front door.

"He had it coming, him and his stupid football jock friends!" I mutter still struggling to get out of her grasp.

Gosh she's a strong little thing.

"What the hell happened?" Spencer yells as Aria brings me over to her, where she is waiting in the front yard by the cars.

I roll my eyes at her dramatics. But I frown in curiosity as I spot Hanna leaning against Spencer for support.

She looks drunk but I'm not sure. Hopefully she wasn't drugged too.

"We need to get out of here! Hanna's drunk arguing with head cheerleader and Emily decided to pick a fight with the entire defensive linemen." Aria exclaims.

"It was just one." I mutter, but I can see that it falls on deaf ears.

"Oh my god, look at your hand." Spencer says grabbing my hand, looking at the growing bruise.

I wince and pull my hand away as she runs her thumb across my knuckles.

"I'll be fine." I mutter as I cradle my hand protectively.

"Okay we need to leave now." Aria says again. "Spencer, since you guys live next door to each other can you take them home make sure they get settled in?" She asks taking the keys off of Hanna and handing them to Spencer.

"No! I can't go home my mom is probably up waiting for us!" I practically scream.

Spencer winces at my loud voice then covers my mouth with her hand and pushes my head against her shoulder. Muffling me against her shoulder.

Aria takes my phone from hand and unlocks it then starts typing. I'm assuming that she's sending a message to my mom. She waits a beat, and when the phone lights up with a message she hands my phone back to me. "Your mom said that you can stay the night with Hanna." She eyes me up and down before a frown takes over your face. "Where's your jacket?" She and curiously.

I glance down at my bare arms and frown at myself. "I don't know."

Spencer just rolls her eyes and releases me from her hold then grabs my hand and drags me along as she makes her way towards Hanna's car.

And speaking of Hanna. I turn around and spot Hanna with a sullen look on her face. She looks sort of depressed as she drags her feet, following along behind us.

I give her a questioning look but she just forces a smile in return.

I'm pulled out of my revere by Aria opening the passenger door to Hanna's car and pushing me inside roughly. "Gentle." I mutter.

"Lets just get you guys home." Spencer says, placing Hanna in the back seat of her car before jumping into the drivers seat. "I'll text you when I tuck them in." Spencer says with a sarcastic smile aimed at Aria.

I watch as we drive away from the house leaving a waving Aria goodbye.

I let out a sigh and close my eyes and before I know I falling into a soundless sleep.

I wake up with a jolt, and a slight pain in my head.

God. I can't be hung over already, I've only slept for maybe...

Shit it's five in the morning already?

I glance around at my surroundings and notice I'm not in my room. Right, I'm at Hanna's house.

And speaking of Hanna. I look down to see her arm slung over my hip securely, preventing me from moving.

Hmm I guess that's a no go on a bathroom trip.

I lie back down with a heavy sigh. I turn over and notice the close proximity that I share with Hanna, and it allows me to take in her features a bit more.

She looks so much younger when she's asleep. And that only just adds to her beauty. I reach out and run my index finger gently across her face.

"It's illegal in all fifty states to molest someone in their sleep." Hanna mutters with her eyes still closed, startling me. I drop my hand and roll my eyes at her, even though she can't see.

"I wasn't...molesting you...I was just...admiring your beauty." I stutter out lamely.

Hanna opens her eyes and gives me a small smile. "You're such a creeper." She mutters tiredly.

I roll my eyes and let out a huff. "I'm not a...creeper..." I huff out again fighting the blush that appears on my cheeks.

Hanna giggles this time and shifts her head closer to me on the pillow we're sharing. "Thank you for the compliment." She speaks quietly into the night air.

There's this whisper of air that flows around the room and our voices barely goes an octave higher than that.

It's sort of serene.

"You didn't seem to enjoy yourself tonight." I observe openly.

Hanna lets out a small sigh. "That's because I didn't." She breathes out.

I frown in confusion. I would think that this party was definitely her scene. Or any party in general. But I guess not.

"Aria said you were arguing with the head cheerleader, was she talking about Samara?" I ask.

Hanna seems to be lost in thought before she looks at me with a forced smile. "It was nothing. Just a disagreement over what routine we should do at the game next Friday." She covers.

But I can tell that she's lying. But I let it go because it's obvious she doesn't want to talk about it.

"I'm sorry about yelling at you about Maya. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. Whatever me and Maya fought over is between me and her. I shouldn't have put you in the middle of it." Hanna says sincerely.

I give her a teasing smile as I twirl a lock of her hair playfully around my finger. "So me and Maya can become BFF's. Paint our nails, go shopping..." I trail off like I'm in a dream like state.

"Shut up." Hanna says with a giggle as she slaps my hand away from her hair. "I'm being serious here." She adds with a pout.

I giggle at her childish behavior. "Well thank you, I'm glad I have your blessing to make new friends." I tease. Hanna just nudges me playfully before rolling over on her back to stare at her ceiling and I follow suit.

"I know we only became friends for a weird circumstance but I won't you to know that I'm glad we are friends...you've become one of the few people I trust." Hanna admits.

I smile softly at her words and take her hand in mine. "I'm glad we're friends too." I say truthfully.

Hanna lets out a sigh. "Lets just sleep for the next couple of days and forget all the crazy stuff that's happened over the week with Alison. Maybe Monday we can start anew." She says wistfully, before turning away from me and falling back into slumber.

"Yeah...maybe..." I say into the air, even though I know she's asleep right now and can't hear me.

I mean what's the worst that can happen?

Although everything we've tried has failed, and Alison still remains Queen B of the school. We still have an advantage over her...we're still hidden in the shadows ready to attack at any moment...

-Monday Morning-

I jump startled at the paper being slammed in front of me. I'm slow to react as I push my lunch tray aside and look down at the yearbook picture I took last year.

And let me tell you it is not appealing.

Glasses, ponytail, and acne not even Proactive can clear.

I shudder at the memory.

Then I look up to see none other than Alison Dilaurentis standing over me with a smirk playing on her lips.

"Emily Fields, I thought we'd never meet again...or should I call you scooter girl?" She asks innocently with a head tilt.

I swallow the food that I was currently chewing audibly and the smirk on Alison's face turns almost sinister.

Well so much for remaining in the shadows...


	7. Chapter 7

**Alison Dilaurentis Must Die:**

 **Episode 6: A New Sheriff In Town.**

 **Alison POV.**

~~~~X~~~~Saturday Afternoon~~~~X~~~~

I take a seat at my usual table at the Brew. Exactly at 1:00pm. The waiter is already bringing me my latte and the lunch special before I even place my order.

I give him a small smile in appreciation, and watch the blush wash over his face. He gives me an awkward smile then scurry's away.

I let out a small sigh in satisfaction, before turning to face the empty chair in front of me. I look up at the clock on the wall and notice Mona is five minutes late.

Just then the girl in question slams down a Manila folder on the table in front of me, as she flops down across from me with a huff.

I frown slightly as I take in her appearance.

She has bags under her eyes and dark glasses over her face. Her hair is slightly disheveled, and her face is pale, devoid of any makeup. So I'm positive she's still sporting a heavy hangover.

And I do little to hide the smile that forms on my face because of it.

That serves her right for abandoning me at the party last night.

I reach over and flip through the file, as Mona flags down our waiter to order her a latte and a salad.

"That's a list of all of the Emily's that go to Rosewood High and Rosewood Academy. It's only five of them so I gathered as much information as I could on each of them. You can look at the pictures to see which one is the Emily from last night." Mona explains tiredly.

I take my time reading over the names and looking at the faces, as the waiter approaches the table to take Mona's order.

 **Emily Adams:**

She has a pale skin, and freckles on her face, with red hair. Nope not our girl.

 **Emily Reynolds:**

Is your average looking girl with Brown hair. The Emily I saw was nowhere near average looking.

 **Emily Manson:**

Blonde hair, blue eyes. Definitely not the Emily I'm looking for.

 **Emily Rains:**

Has dark hair, Latino decent, but she's a little bit on the short and chunky side. That can't be her.

And last but not least...

 **Emily Fields:**

She's tall, from Philippine decent, a pretty smile. But she's wearing glasses and has acne on her face. She's still beautiful, there's no doubt about that. But still it's sort of a stretch of her being the girl I saw at the party last night.

Although if you take in all of her features and compare them to the Hot Emily from last night ... I squint closer and... holy shit. I lean back in awe.

Holy shit...Emily Fields aka Scooter girl is the hot Emily from the party.

Hmm this is an interesting turn if events.

I wonder is this an everyday thing or does she only become hot during the weekend. Seriously I've seen her in school and she's nowhere near as elegant and confident as she was at the party last night. She's sort of like Superman. When she's scooter girl she's in disguise as Clark Kent. And when the party came she turned into the flawless character.

God, don't look at me like that. I'm not some comic book nerd.

My brother just likes to collect them.

But now that I have this information, hopefully I can put it to good use. I could stop her from becoming Super hot Emily all the time. I don't really need the competition in school right now. And this information is a sure fire way to make sure that I remain at the top of the school pyramid.

I take her information out of the file to get a closer look.

She's an only child. Her dad is in the Marines. There's no job listed for her mom in here, but from what I gathered last night, her mom cleans? She's a sophomore. Captain/Anchor of the swim team. Her best friend is Toby Cavanaugh, but other than that she's a loner.

Hmm that's it?

No big secret? No indiscretions on her permanent record. This isn't much to keep her in line.

I look up to see Mona practically inhaling her Latte.

"What else do you know about Emily Fields?" I ask. Hoping Mona can think of more dirt on her.

"Everything I know is in that file. She's sort of under the radar. Nothing extraordinary." Mona says casually, before a smirk breaks out across her face. "Wait, don't tell me that Emily Fields is the girl that you met yesterday. The one that if you let the guys at party tell it, was a walking supermodel." Mona says with humor tracing her words.

I roll my eyes at her.

"Well she didn't look like this yesterday." I say sliding her photo across the table towards Mona. "Does she date anyone? Is she dating that Toby guy?" I asks curiously

Mona shrugs uncaringly, while playing with her salad. "I don't know." She then looks up, scrutinizing me. "Why are you so interested in this girl? I get she was all hot yesterday but don't tell me your intimidated by her. Trust me she's just a new face for right now, soon she'll blow over just like Sydney, Shana, and Sarah did."

I wish I could take her words in and find relief, but Mona didn't see this girl yesterday. She didn't seem to be after popularity. If anything she remained hidden in the shadows, like that's where she intends on staying. And trust me that's more dangerous then trying to dethrone me. If she could become the queen of the losers, she'd rule the majority of the school.

And I can't have that.

I force a smile towards Mona before looking back down at the file. "Wait, isn't Toby Cavanaugh Jena's step brother?" I asks knowingly.

"Yup." Mona says now distracted by the cellular devise in her hands.

Hmm I'll have to just get information about him from Jena, and hopefully he'll tell me something incriminating about Emily.

"So enough about this loser girl...tell me what happened with Holbrook Thursday. I saw your tweeter feed and so many guys were tweeting you. What the hell happened? I'm sure Holbrook was pretty pissed when he saw it." Mona says with a saucy smirk.

I sip from my latte and carefully set it down on the table. "I broke up with Holbrook." I say evenly.

"What!" Mona screeches, causing all eyes to fall on us. Mona shoots them a glare and everyone resumes normal. I roll my eyes at her and stir the contents of my latte. "Why would you do that? He was a hot college guy who happened to be a mega star of the town. And he was so into you. Why would you sabotage that?" She asks angrily.

"Wow Mona if you felt so strongly about him, maybe you should have dated him instead." I say half jokingly.

"Well if I would have known that you were going to screw it up than maybe I would have." Mona retorts back angrily.

"Listen Mona." I say her name through clenched teeth. She can be a real persistent pain in the ass when she wants to be. "He was boring and only cared about himself and that stupid car of his. Of course I dumped him, he was becoming old news." I explain half assed.

The truth is after the whole entire ordeal Thursday I was slightly embarrassed to face him. And besides he was catching major feelings for me and I couldn't deal with that.

"Okay lets pretend for a second that I buy that." Mona says setting down her fork and folding her arms across her chest. "What happened Thursday night that caused the date to go south?"

I sigh. "That's the thing, I'm not really sure. One minute I was being my charming self..." I recall thinking back on that night.

"So Alison did I mention that you looked amazing in that shirt?" Holbrook asks charmingly.

"Hmhmm." I reply flippantly as I stare down at my phone.

"And the next I was eating all of his fries and hugging strangers, and celebrating a game that I didn't even understand." I say, shuddering at the memory of my weird behavioral

"Yeah! Slam dunk baby!" I cheer jumping up chest bumping some drunk guy who I've never met before.

"Did you see that shot?!" He exclaims.

"Hell yeah!" I say turning and giving Holbrook a punch in the shoulder.

He winces and brings his hand up to his arm, rubbing the pain from his arm.

The truth is, after I had left then Brew Thursday I had been feeling a little strange. Like I wasn't myself. I was more aggressive and honestly if I hadn't picked out my outfit for the date the night before, I wouldn't have cared what I wore. Truthfully I just wanted to stay home and lounge around on the couch.

Weird right?

I even did 10 push-ups to get rid of some of the access energy I had building up.

I don't know what they put in that latte but it sure did give me an energy boast.

and a changed personality...

Mona frowns in confusion at my admission. "What the hell does that even mean?" She asks.

I let out a sigh. "I don't know. This urge just came over me. I felt relaxed and uncaring. I was belching and scratching myself. Like I was some complete guy. It was so...horrible." I explain.

"Okay for the sake of my sanity and your reputation you should never admit that out loud again." Mona cautions, looking around at the patrons in the brew.

"Well that's the thing. The guys around me seemed to like it. Me being one of them. They thought it was hot." I say a sly smirk making its way over my face. "Even Holbrook seemed to like it." I say my smirk turning almost sinister. "Well that's until he took it to far.

-Flashback Thursday night-

 _Holbrook pulls up in front of my house, parking the car in front of the curb instead of in the driveway, before killing the engine._

 _The entire car ride back was as awkward as I'd expected it to be._

 _I don't know what came over me._

 _I'm so mortified by my actions that I can't even look him in the face._

 _But I'm Alison Dilaurentis and I'm not supposed to be embarrassed by my actions. I'm supposed to own them and work them like in season heels._

 _I take a deep breath and open my mouth to say something. Anything really._

 _But Holbrook cuts me off._

 _"So what happen tonight was pretty...weird." Holbrook says with a frown. He looks to be in thought, like whatever he's thinking about it's bothering him._

 _Okay I can do weird. Weird can be good right?_

 _I open my mouth to respond but he cuts me off again._

 _"But it was a good type of weird. I mean I've never seen a girl do that before. Blend in so well with the guys. And actually enjoy herself like that. Most girls are afraid to be themselves around me but you...you were just amazing." He breathes out, like he's slightly mesmerized by me._

 _I frown in confusion._

 _Oh honey trust me, I was far from myself tonight. But of course I don't voice that out loud._

 _When I raise my eyebrows skeptically, he turns and faces me, taking my hands in his._

 _"Seriously Alison. And don't take this the wrong way, but most girls that are super beautiful, are to caught up in their looks and what people would think about them if they were anything but 'perfect'. But not you, and you don't know how relived I am to see that you're not like that." He explains honestly._

 _I watch him for a second, considering his words, and taking them in as the truth._

 _I give him the sweetest smile I can muster even though my stomach is turning._

 _"That's so sweet of you to say." I say running my thumb across the back of his hand._

 _He lets out a sigh. "Alison, I know what I'm about to say is so...soon...but I think I love you."_

 _Woah! That's not where I was hoping this was going._

 _I pull my hands away from him as quickly as I can, and break eye contact before he can see the panic in my eyes._

 _Holbrook looks at me in confusion. "What's wrong?" He asks._

 _What's wrong? He seriously did not just ask me that question._

 _This is not what I wanted from him._

 _Okay this dating thing stops right now._

 _I scoff and shake my head. "What's wrong? Holbrook I don't love you. It's only been two weeks and I can barely tolerate you." I say evenly._

 _I can tell by the look on his face that I've crushed his feelings. But it needed to be done. I cannot go through this for another month or so...or however else long I planed on keeping him around._

 _He looks even more confused than before, like he couldn't believe that I was dumping him._

 _Well believe it. I've been over this relationship for a week now. I just wanted him to take me to homecoming._

 _I guess I'll have to find a different fella._

 _"What does that even mean? All the time we've spent together...I introduced you to my mom...and now you're just breaking up with me?" He asks with a light chuckle._

 _This is ridiculous._

 _I roll my eyes while shaking my head at him. "Yes. I am." I say grabbing the handle, opening the door. "It's been fun...really...I've enjoyed myself. But I think we're going in two totally different directions and fast. I just don't want either one of us to get hurt." God I'm sick of using this sob story on guys._

 _Holbrook turns to face forward as he looks down at his hands. "It's too late for that." He mutters under his breath._

 _I give him a sympathetic glance. "Sorry." I say exiting the car. I shut the door and lean into the window giving him one last glance. "You take care of yourself Gabriel." I say with a small smile._

 _He studies me for a while before nodding his head in agreement. "You to Alison." He starts his car up but doesn't pull off until I'm entering my house._

~End of Flashback~

"So you just dumped him? Just like that?" Mona asks snapping her finger, placing emphasis on 'that'

"Yup." I say popping the 'P' at the end.

"Why didn't you tell me yesterday at the party?" Mona questions.

"Because I know you. You would have made me get drunk and hook up with some senior as a rebound." I say rolling my eyes. "And I truly did not want that." I add on.

Mona just rolls her eyes. "So what are you going to do about homecoming?"

I shrug uncaringly. "I'm sure I'll find a hot date...have you not read my tweeter feed." I say casually.

Mona frown disappears as a smile breaks out on her face. "Well I guess it could be fun getting back out there again, and finding you a date." She responds with a shrug. "Speaking of which, did I tell you that hot guy Wren Kingston asked me out?" She asks excitedly.

"You mean the one you ditched me for last night?" I asks.

Mona just rolls her eyes and waves me off. "Oh get over last night. I got laid and you got played. We do it to each other all the time...anyways, he's taking me to home coming." She gloats.

I give her my best fake smile. Some part of me is happy Mona finally asked someone out instead of worrying about my love life. The other part really wants to rub it in her face that I've already had Wren.

We made out behind the bleachers two weeks ago. He asked me out and I turned him down because I was going out with Holbrook at the time.

My smile turns real when I realize how good it feels to know she's happy about my sloppy seconds.

Am I a bitch?

Yes.

But, trust me if you know Mona you'll see that we're one in the same.

"Well I better get going." Mona says standing up shouldering her purse. "I'm meeting Shana at the mall. We're shopping for homecoming dresses. I would ask you to come but your still in some kind of fog over that Emily girl." She says with a smirk. "You've got this right?" She asks motioning to the check on the table that the waiter dropped by when I wasn't paying attention. "Au Revoir." She says waving her fingers at me before skipping out.

"Sure." I mutter sarcastically.

Bitch.

See what I mean.

~~~~X~~~~At Home~~~~x~~~~

I enter the house as quietly as I can. Making sure to take off my heels so no one can hear me coming in.

I swing the door shut slowly, making sure to be careful not to let it squeak.

I let out a deep breath in relief as I begin to tip-toe towards the stairs, avoiding the kitchen because I know that's where my mom is. She's probably waiting for me so I can receive some form of lecturing.

Like I would be stupid enough to walk into that trap. Could she be more obvious?

I mean she doesn't even cook for Christ sakes.

"Hey Alison! Are you just now getting in?!" Jason says, announcing me as loud as he can, alerting my mom of my presence.

Dick!

I turn and shoot him my fiercest glare, but before I can say anything my mom comes out of the kitchen.

"Alison, where have you been? I've been calling all morning, why haven't you been answering your phone?" My mom interrogates.

I turn my attention reluctantly away from Jason and towards my mom who's looking at me patiently, waiting for my answer.

I roll my eyes at and sigh. "I was with Mona, Jessica. On Saturday's we have our afternoon brunches, remember." I ask rhetorically, before turning to face Jason. "And what the hell was the purpose of you moving out if you were just going to be here all the time?!" I say seething.

Jason just smirks and as always my mom comes to his defense.

"Alison, that's no way to talk to your brother. You should be lucky that he even comes to visit with the way that you treat him." She says giving him a small smile on my behalf. Jason just eats that shit up, like the little bitch that he is. "And honestly you should watch your language, you sound like a sailor." She says with an eye roll. "Your dad is coming home early from his business trip today. He wants to have family dinner." She instructs.

I scoff and roll my eyes again. "Well I'm sure he'll be disappointed to see that this house is devoid of any family."

"Don't be dramatic." My mom says with an eye roll of her own. "Just be ready by 6:30." She says before turning on her heels and entering the kitchen again.

Before I can say anything Jason is standing beside me laughing.

I punch him in the shoulder as hard as I can. "You ass!" I say through clenched teeth.

"Sorry baby sis, you're just to easy." He retorts back, while rubbing his injured arm.

"Why don't you ever go and bother the other one?" I ask referring to CeCe.

Jason shrugs. "She doesn't get as mad as you do. Again, your just to easy." He says pulling me into a strong side hug.

"Eww Jason you smell like a brewery." I say shoving him away from me. "Gosh, now I need to shower your stink off of me."

"I'm sure your just using that as an excuse to get rid of the smell of the guy you spent the night giving BJ's too. Still playing the good Christian moral role because your still to scared to go all the way." He teases me.

I glare at him before ascending the stairs. "Well that's better than spending most nights at the free clinic getting tested for STD's." I toss over my shoulder.

"Bite me." He says angrily.

"With all the lead needles you shove into your arm, I'd be afraid of catching tetanus." I scoff out, before disappearing from site.

Gosh, he's such a thorn in my side.

He'll never just disappear from my life.

No matter how many times he leaves the nest, that damn bird just keeps coming back.

I walk towards my room but come to a slow walk as I notice my room door is cracked open.

I'm positive I locked it.

Nothing around here is safe unless it's hidden from view and locked away. Just like my room was.

I hear low humming coming from my sisters room and I quickly march over towards her door, flinging it open dramatically.

But that doesn't matter because she has her back turned towards me, with her headphones on that's connected to her boom box stereo, as she sits in front of her laptop at her computer desk.

A boom box?

Seriously who even has that shit anymore.

I walk over and rip her headphones off her head.

"What the fuck is your problem?" CeCe screams as she swivels in her chair to glare at me.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay the hell out of my room!" I scream back.

CeCe just scoffs and shakes her head. "Clearly your delusional. We had our agreement since we were like 12 and 9; I don't read your diaries and you don't fuck with my music. Meaning we don't touch each other shit." She says taking her headphones out of my hand for emphasis. "What makes you think that's changed now?" She asks rolling her eyes.

I huff out a deep breath.

I know she's right but I won't admit that.

"Then who broke in my room?" I ask.

CeCe just shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe ask Jason. He kept bothering me earlier for 20 bucks, maybe he went in your room to find it himself." She says uncaringly.

That asshole.

I knew it was a reason he was acting all affectionate towards me downstairs.

We never hug.

Now I know why.

He feels guilty that I'm going to tell on him.

Well he should seriously watch his back because he won't get off that easy.

"If your done spacing out on thinking of ways to get Jason back, could you get out and shut the door?" CeCe asks rhetorically before placing her head phones back on her hands to resume doing whatever the fuck she was doing. Dismissing me in the process.

I scowl at her, even though she can't see me, then storm out of the room.

I walk into my room and quickly begin checking for missing items, uncovered treasures, or just anything out of place really.

I find my stash to be a few twenty dollar bills short so my suspensions about Jason was true.

So much payback is coming his way, he has no idea.

I take a deep breath to release some of the tension in my body before flopping on my bed.

I guess my morning was more draining then I thought because I soon find myself drifting off into a light slumber.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

I groan as I quickly run down the stairs towards the front door where the noise is coming from.

Doesn't anyone know how to answer the door?

I sigh and look around the empty house.

I guess not. Since no one seems to be here.

Where the hell is everybody?!

They're a nuisance when I'm trying to be alone and useless when I'm napping.

I fling the door open ready to give whomever it is a piece of my mind, but you can say that plan fails when I'm stuck gawking at the person behind the door.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I ask, attempting to swallow down my shock.

"Is that how you treat all your guest or am I just lucky?" She asks with a sarcastic smirk.

I don't respond.

I want too, but I have nothing to say.

"You going to invite me in or are we going to have this little chitchat right here on the porch?" She asks leaning casually against the doorframe.

I frown, but still find myself opening the door wider for her to come in.

She enters the house, doing the obvious; looking around checking out the decor.

She's wearing dark denim jeans with ankle high leather boots, a white shirt and a dark denim jacket over it.

She looks sort of bad ass. Sort of like a modern day biker chick.

"Nice bricks." She says, that annoying smirk coming to play across her lips again, as she gestures around to the layout of house.

And for some stupid odd reason, my stomach flutters at the site of it.

"Cut the bullshit Emily, what are you doing here?" I ask with an irritated voice. Even though I'm more irritated with myself.

Her smirk disappears and she frowns in concentration. "I think we both know why I'm here." She says stepping closer to me.

Okay.

I take a step back and look around the house again.

"Lets have this talk upstairs in my room. I don't want any unwanted ears listening to our conversation." I say moving past her and ascending the stairs. I don't have to turn around to see if she's following me. I can hear her boots marking my stairs.

I enter my room and hold the door open for her, once she's in, I shut and lock the door for privacy.

Like I said only things locked away stay hidden.

My family is a very curious kind.

Emily walks around my room, touching the nicknacks and trinkets I have everywhere. She runs her fingers over my wallpaper before stoping to rest her hand on my bed post. "Cool room."

"Thanks." I mutter, my cheeks turning red from the compliment. This is the first time that I've let someone, other than Mona and Noel, come into my room willingly.

"So. What did you want to talk about?" She asks flopping on my bed, rubbing her hands against her thighs. Immediately my eyes are drawn towards the motion, and I swallow the lump in my throat.

"What's with you? You went from brace face to trying to be the hottest girl in the school. What are you up too? What's your game plan?" I ask, demanding to know.

Emily just smiles before shrugging casually. "I'm not up to anything." She stands. "What? You don't like my new look?" She asks pouting, as she gestures down at her wardrobe.

I open my mouth to respond but nothing comes out.

I have to mentally shake my head to clear my thoughts.

"If your planning something just know that I will shut you down before you can even blink." I threaten menacingly.

Instead of cowering, Emily smiles even wider. She walks closer to me, and I unconsciously step backwards. "What are you doing?" I ask, my nerves making an appearance.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Emily asks, her voice dropping an octave. She gives me a confused/curious look, giving false innocence to the question.

Again I swallow the lump in my throat.

"Uh...no." I stutter out.

"Good." I step back again but my back hits the wall. Emily takes this opportunity to step into my personal space. I can feel the heat coming off her body, it causes me to shiver. "Because you make me nervous. And there should be only one nervous person around here." Emily's voice barely qualifies as a whisper. She takes her hand and runs it through my hair. "I'm sorry if I make you think that I have ulterior motives."

"It seems like you do..." I force out around the lump in my throat.

"Hmm." She cups my face gently in her hand, lightly tracing her finger down my jaw. "Maybe."

"Wha- what are you doing?" I asks with a quivering breath.

Emily gives a gentle smile, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. "I just want to try something...so please don't hit me." Emily says gripping my chin firmly before brushing her lips lightly against mine.

The pressure is too light, it has me craving more.

I can tell Emily can sense my distress because she smirks against my lips as she kisses me with more firmness. I relish in it, but before I can respond to it, Emily pulls her head back.

I have to do everything in my power to suppress the groan threatening to break free.

I expect to see a smug look on Emily's face, but instead all I see is a stunning smile. "See...that wasn't so bad was it?" She asks teasingly.

I don't respond. I just grab Emily by the back of her neck and crash her lips back onto mine.

Immediately we dive into a bruising kiss. Emily nips on my bottom lip, and I let out an embarrassingly loud moan at the sensation. This causes Emily to pull me flush against her, her hands fly to my hips giving it a not so gentle squeeze. The kiss deepens and I'm doing my best not to lose my shit because I'm sure this is the best kiss that I've ever experienced in my life.

And it gets better. I feel Emily licking at my bottom lip, begging for permission to enter. I accept her tongue into my mouth like it was my own, and the sensation is something that's close to bringing me to my knees. Emily's hands begin to shift from my hips and down the sides of my thighs, until she reaches around me to cup my ass, giving it a squeeze. I let out a powerful groan as she lifts me up and I'm forced to wrap my legs around her waist.

With this new position I can feel her pushing up against my most sensitive parts. Her hands remain on my butt as she begins to grind forward. I'm blinded by the sensations. I break the kiss tossing my head back. "Fuck Emily!" I moan out as she begins to kiss across my jaw towards my neck.

I can feel her marking me but I can't do anything to care about it, because all I can feel is this new heat pooling between my legs. I'm sure if she moves her hand down my body, she would feel it too.

The grinding intensifies and I can't stop panting as she kisses the spot underneath my ear. I take her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me.

"What do you want me to do?" She asks in a raspy voice resting her forehead against mine, and I just about lose my shit.

I let out another moan. I want her to touch me, but for some reason I can't bring myself to say it.

"Can I touch you?" She asks, fuck she's so close to me right now that she's reading my mind.

Again, I can't voice these words but I know what I want. I nod my head slowly and Emily smiles at me before kissing me gently.

Just then she takes one hand off of my ass to softly cup my breast rubbing it in small circles. The kneading drives me crazy, even if it is just over the top of my bra.

God I'm going to lose it.

I wish I could feel her flesh on my own.

Emily continues to kiss me as she squeezes my breast tighter. I pull out of kissing range to rest my head against the wall as her hand descends down my body towards my most vulnerable place.

"I can feel you through your shorts." She whispers. "It's driving me crazy. I have to touch you." She says bringing her hand down to cup me.

My eyes practically roll to the back of my head, as I drop my head to her shoulder.

"God Em..." I moan out but it's broken by the pressure that Emily begins to apply. And I'm sure I'm about to scream so I quickly bite down on her shoulder and my mouth is invaded by the taste of her scent. It sends another wave of arousal down my spine.

"Emily..." the moan is muffled because of her leather jacket.

Wait.

Leather jacket?

I thought she was wearing a denim jacket.

I pull back to see that Emily is in fact wearing a leather jacket. I look down to the rest of her wardrobe to notice everything is different. She has on black leather pants and a white crew neck shirt.

But that's not right.

Emily smirks at me in confusion. "What's wrong?" She asks her voice laced with concern.

"When did you change?" I asks confused.

Emily giggles. "I didn't. I was wearing this when I came in." She says looking at me like I'm crazy.

What? No, that's not true.

I shake my head vigorously as I push her gently off of me jumping down. "This isn't right...this isn't..." I run my hand though my hair. "Fuck I'm must be dreaming.

Then realization hits me.

I'm dreaming.

I startle awake to find myself clutching a leather jacket in my hand and between my teeth.

Fuck I still have her jacket. I guess that would explain the taste of her scent in my mouth.

I'm interrupted from my daze by a voice startling me from the door.

"That's some wet dream you're having there." I hear a voice say from my doorway starling me. CeCe leans casually against my doorframe with a smirk resting on her face.

I drop the jacket in my hand and shoot her a glare. "Can I help you with something?!" I ask, combing a hand through my disheveled hair.

CeCe smirk widens. "Since when do you know Emily Fields?...let alone fantasize about her?" She asks with a curious frown.

"That's none of your damn business!" I say through gritted teeth.

"Uh...yeah it is. Seeing as though the last person you had a dream about ended up being outed to the entire school and kicked off of my field hockey team." CeCe points out.

I glare at her. What the fuck is she talking about.

"I didn't have a wet dream about Paige!" I argue back.

"That's not what I read in your journal." CeCe says casually with a shrug. "I mean what type of cliche porno happens in a locker room. You couldn't picture doing her any place else? Like seriously, where did you picture Emily? Inside the pool...did she get you all nice and wet?" CeCe teases crudely, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I gap in shock. I'm not even sure what to say right now. I can't even deny it, seeing as though she's read the words I wrote.

There's no denying that.

Except the shit about Emily...I never wrote that.

None of that is true.

We all know what happened.

"What happen to our agreement. We don't touch each others shit remember!" I mutter angrily.

CeCe shrugs again. "Maybe you shouldn't leave your 'shit' laying around. It's a good read." She says casually.

God I hate this family.

"Again, can I help you with something?!" I ask in frustration.

"Dad's here and mom said you have five minutes to get downstairs for dinner." CeCe says turning to leave but then hesitated and turns around. "I don't know what your intent is with Emily, but whatever your planning...don't hurt her." She says sternly. "She's a good girl." She adds.

I frown in confusion at her words. How the hell does she know Emily Fields?

Before I can I ask her, she gives me one final look then disappears down the stairs.

I huff out a breath as I flop backwards on my bed.

God, is it weird that I'm not even upset that she caught me having this dream?

I'm more upset about actually having the dream.

I cannot fantasize about Emily.

I just can't!

Maybe it was just because I had her jacket in my hand at the time...which I didn't even realize that I still had the damn coat.

I should have tossed it out.

I pick up the jacket and examine it. It is nice...I rotate it in my hand before digging through the pockets. I pull out a piece of paper that has an address on it. The directions to the party and a number.

From what I remember this looks to be Maya's number.

How the hell does she know Maya?

I wonder is she in the closet like Maya, and are they secretly dating?

Was that why she was at the party?

I'll definitely get to the bottom of this.

I toss the jacket to the corner of my room and hop off my bed to head downstairs for dinner.

I hate family dinners! It's so fake and forced.

My dad asks the same questions, get the same answers while everyone puts on fake happy smiles, then he leaves for the next three weeks for a "business trip."

Yeah right.

I already saw the text messages from his mistress. He actually caught me going through his phone. That's why daddy dearest gives me everything I want.

And don't look at me like that I'm not black mailing him. He's just scared that I'll tell so he jumps through hoops for me.

Don't worry I never plan on telling anyone. No matter how much I hate this family I would never want to destroy it. I'll leave that to Jason and his drug problems.

But it is fun milking him for all he's worth. It's just pretty pathetic on his part though.

As enter the kitchen everyone is already seated in their usual spots. I roll my eyes at this hallmark look and flop down in my chair.

"Nice of you to join us Alison, dinner started five minutes ago." My mom says with a disapproving look.

"Sorry my nap ran a little over." I say, only to hear snickers coming from CeCe, I look up and give her my best glare and she gives me a smug smile in return.

"Well I'm just glad to see my little girl." My dad steps in to say, while giving me a wink. I smile tilting my head in faux swooning, while Jason rolls his eyes and scarfs down whatever drink is front of him, and CeCe just scoffs in disgust. "Okay shall we dig in?" My dad announces and everyone starts making their plates and pacing dishes around the dinner table.

We were never much of a praying family, but we follow tradition very well.

"So Jason how's school been? You still on the deans list?" My dad asks with a bright smile.

Jason seems to hesitate for a moment as he gives my dad his best smile. "Of course. Im doing so well in my courses that I got offered a TA position in my anatomy class." Jason brags.

That's a lie. He dropped that class four weeks ago and he's currently failing the rest of his classes.

His drug problem is getting ridiculous.

Don't ask me how I know.

I just do.

I know everything.

I watch as my mom reach across the table to stroke his cheek affectionately, and Jason just eats that shit up.

He's so fucking annoying.

"What about you Ali? Anything new with you?" He asks.

Nothing that concerns him.

"Oh just the usual. Shopping, school and parties, you know, normal teenage girl stuff..." I reply. Which is very shallow of me to say, because even though it holds a little truth, that's not all that I've been up too. I just don't want him in my business.

My dad just nods his head accepting my answer but my mom has other plans.

"Honestly Ali, I wish you would apply yourself to more meaningful things, like your brother and his Jr. teaching, and your sister with her sport teams." My mom reprimands me.

I roll my eyes but force a smile. "Sorry mother I just find doing things that hold no interest to me pointless and tiring. Don't you rather I be happy?" I asks with a head tilt.

She frowns and opens her mouth to reply but my dad cuts her off. "Of course Ali, we want you to do whatever makes you happy." He then sends a warning look at my mom to drop the subject.

See what I mean by jumping through hoops.

"CeCe..." my dad announces his next target. "You've been quiet, how's your lacrosse team doing?" He asks.

"It's going well. We have a real shot at winning nationals this year." She says looking down before looking back up at me with devious eyes. "Well we had a real shot, but a girl on our team got kicked off because of some stupid rumor that was started about her being gay." CeCe blabs.

My mom gasps in horror. "That's so awful, who would do such a thing?!"

My posture stiffens and I sit up straight. "Maybe you shouldn't talk so much CeCe, you wouldn't want your new tongue ring to get infected." I say through gritted teeth.

"What tongue ring?" My dad asks with a frown.

CeCe shoots me a harsh glare as my mom gasps again this time in shock.

That's payback for reading my journal bitch.

"Charlotte!" My mom exclaims.

CeCe just rolls her eyes and slouches back in her chair. "It's nothing mom." She says with a shrug. "You can barely tell it's there."

"That's not the point Charlotte, that thing can become infected and they'd have to cut your tongue off. Honestly what were you thinking?!" She turns to my dad. "Kenneth say something!" My mom says scolding my father for not jumping in."

"CeCe listen to your mother." Is all my dad adds as he stuffs his face with food unfazed by what's happening.

As CeCe and my mom argue back and forth, Jason jumps in and starts defending CeCe, once he realizes that the conversation is going no where, he turns and lashes out at me.

"You're such a bitch Alison. Why'd you have to go and open your big mouth!" He yells angrily. His fist clenching and un-clenching. I can see his leg bouncing uncontrollably underneath the table.

He's raging. Must be from the drugs.

"Jason watch how you talk to your little sister." My dad says jumping in to defend me.

Jason just glares in return. "And why do you always have to defend her? She's such a little cunt but in your eyes she can do no wrong. This family would have been better off if she was just never born. She such a fucking black sheep!" He says bringing his fist down hard on the table.

I'm not to proud to admit it, but that stung a little.

But where he stings, I bite.

"Are you sure I'm the black sheep Jason? Because last time I checked snorting coke makes you the biggest outcast of the family." I say eerily calm, especially for how I'm feeling on the inside.

Jason stiffens and his voice drops a level. "That was a longtime ago Alison." He says through clenched teeth.

"You sure about that? Because one of your little friends dropped by today and I thought she was your "student." But all she did was drop off a package and demand that you owe her money." I says causing my dad to drop his fork on his plate and my mom to again gasps in shock.

She's going to faint if she keeps gasping like that.

The house is stone cold silent before I add. "By the way you owe me 80 bucks." I say with a shrug.

My dad angrily stands from the table, his chair scrapping loudly against the wooden floor, slamming his napkin down over his unfinished meal. "In my study now!" He demands.

"B-but dad she's lying." Jason stutters out. Which is true no girl ever came to the door. But once they test him they'll think I wasn't.

"Right now Jason!" He says pointing towards the door. He leaves out without a second glance towards us and Jason follows while throwing me a disbelieving look. My mom gets up from the table with tears in her eyes as she throws me a disappointed look before following them into the study.

All that's left at the table is CeCe and me. We sit in silence before she looks up at me shaking her head. I can see the tears in her eyes.

"That was low Alison, even for you." She says shaking her head at me.

"Low for me? You think I don't know you've been covering up for his little addictions for months? You were helping him hide the fact that he was screwing up this family again just because you didn't want to see him go back to rehab!" I argue back.

CeCe shakes her head at me as the tears finally fall. "I did it because I love him Alison."

"Well thank god, at least one of us do" I retort back with a sneer.

Honestly do they really think I'm that heartless?

CeCe stares at me for a moment before standing up and fleeing the room.

I sit in silence as I finish up my dinner, before retiring to my room.

They think that was unfair? They have no idea.

They targeted me first. As if I wouldn't have retaliated.

But where they sting...I bite.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~

I lie in my bed listening to sounds of raised voices coming from my dads study.

Things begin to smash into pieces and I can hear my mother cries.

Then their was nothing but silence.

I let out a sigh. Do I feel bad for ratting him out? Yes, I didn't want him to get into too much trouble, but the last time he got involved in drugs, we came back to an empty house, all our stuff stolen, and an overdosed Jason.

We almost lost him that night, it nearly tore my family apart.

And I won't let that happen again.

Besides he's a real pain in the ass, I rather he sit in Rehab than on the couch downstairs.

Just then my door swings open and Jason is standing there glaring at me.

"Thanks a lot Alison! Now they're sending me to rehab for three months!" He yells angrily. "What the hell did I ever do to deserve that from you?! I did nothing to you!" He says, finally breaking down from the emotional argument with my parents.

I stare at him for a moment, not sure what to say before I square my jaw.

"Next time steal from CeCe, maybe she'll let you get away with it." I respond.

It's a lie. Although I was pissed at him for taking my money that's not why I did it. I just don't want him to know the real reason. Because even if I told him the truth he wouldn't have believed me.

A million emotions cross his face within a matter of seconds before he hangs his head in defeat. "You hate me that much?" He asks brokenly.

And despite my best efforts my resolve drops and I soften my face.

"No Jason, I don't." I says softly.

Jason stares at me for a moment, as if he's reading me. Something the Dilaurentis family is really good at doing. Before he nods his head and exits my room.

I let out a sigh and flop backwards on my bed.

I love family dinners, don't you?

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

The weekend is moving by slow.

Not that I'm complaining to much. I'm really not ready to face school yet, I still haven't figured out what I was going to do about this Emily girl.

And that stupid dream I had about her just threw me for a loop.

I mean no ones stupid enough to not notice how hot she is. But that doesn't mean that I'm just going to let her take my spotlight.

But again I have to come up with a plan.

It Sunday morning and I find myself in my favorite spot, sitting on the porch of my family's lake house that's secluded in the woods.

I come out here when I need to clear my head. No one in my family likes this lake house, they prefer the one in Cape May, where it's open beach and famous local celebrities to kiss ass with. So I normally get this one all to myself.

And I love it.

Yesterday was a disaster, but I wasn't surprised. This shit happens all the time when it comes to 'family dinners'.

My mom has been crying all night. CeCe has been locked in her room pissed off at me. And after my dad dropped Jason off at his rehab center that he frequently visits, he took off somewhere on another 'business trip.'

So all in all I'd say dinner was a success.

And I am not to blame!

Because the truth was bound to come out sometime. And if I didn't tell my parents, Jason would have gotten worse, so really I did him a favor.

Now, ratting on CeCe about her tongue ring on the other hand was totally revenge. She completely initiated our argument at the dinner table. She was going to tell on me about a rumor I didn't even start. Mona did!

She also fucking read my diary!

And the most embarrassing thing is she found that diary out of all the other ones. The one where I documented my dream about Paige doing me in the locker room.

And if that wasn't embarrassing enough I had that dream several times before I decided to do something even stupider, like try to act on it.

And I got caught by Mona.

See I had a feeling that Paige liked me. She couldn't keep her eyes off of me, especially in the locker room. The first time I caught her checking me out she was watching me put on my shirt, and when I looked over in her direction she was caught wide eyed with a flush face. Then stupidly I had a brief thought of her pushing me up against that locker, having her way with me. But as quickly as that thought crossed my mind it was gone.

And then the dreams just spiraled out of control after that.

I didn't know what to do. Who to talk to. So I relied on the one thing that never failed me, that always kept my secret safe, and that was my diary.

And fucking CeCe read it! Fucking Bitch!

But I guess I should address another thought you're probably having.

I'm not Gay!

I think it's normal to have certain attractions to attractive people.

I mean who hasn't gotten drunk and hooked up with a girl instead of a guy?

Yeah, same thing. We all experiment.

My thoughts are no different. But they were supposed to remain just that...my thoughts.

God I hate CeCe. If she's feeling vengeful from last night she could tell everyone.

But like I've been saying where they sting me I bite back.

CeCe really doesn't want to cause a feud because I would seriously leak secrets of hers that would damage her reputation for the rest of her life.

But I doubt she'd act on her temptations. I mean she's stupid but even she's not that stupid.

Anyways, I think all of my problems just boil down to what this Emily girl plans to do.

Subconsciously I'm concerned about her intentions, so her image plagues my thoughts. But once I put an end to her, she'll no longer be a problem.

I just need to find out now.

And what better way to find out then to ask her directly.

~~~~X~~~~Monday Morning~~~~X~~~~

I walk into the school already dreading sitting through the rest of my classes for the day.

I was tired and could barely keep my eyes open.

After I left the lake cabin, returning home was just...strange.

My mom was cleaning everything in sight. On her hands and knees scrubbing the fireplace like there was no tomorrow. I knew it was her way of moving pass the Jason thing, her attempt at forgetting, but all the same it was unusual to see. But nonetheless she pretended everything was fine. She welcomed me home with a kiss on the forehead and an offer of a cup of tea. CeCe on the other hand just pretends I didn't exist. She snubbed me the minute I walked through the door, then walked right past me, and didn't return until later that evening, when the house was supposed to be asleep.

But I couldn't sleep...so I heard her stumble through the door, mumbling, drunk off her ass. I heard her trip up the stairs and into her bedroom. I waited a moment, rolling to my side, attempting to close my eyes so sleep would come. But the second my eyes closed, I could hear CeCe crying through the walls. She was so sad.

God she needed to get over it. It was only three months. He'd come back as good as useless...like always.

She just had to wait and see.

Then she'll be thanking me.

But until then, I will not be consumed by guilt. I have nothing to feel guilty about.

I just need something to distract me. To keep my mind off of things.

As I open my locker, I finally glance around to see the students in the hall recovering from my entrance. The middle of the hall still has a bit of a walkway but the more one goes on the more students crowd the center.

Sometimes it's awesome being me.

"I guess you had every right to feel threatened by that Emily girl." Mona says, as she pops up on the side of me.

And sometimes it sucks.

I let out a huff as I take the book needed out of my locker before slamming it shut. "I don't feel threatened by anyone Mona." I say rolling my eyes before turning to walk away, with Mona right on my heels.

"Well whatever you call it, you were right to feel that way." Mona says rolling her eyes at my denial. "According to the gossip halls she's like the hottest girl ever. And apparently guys are just fighting to line up to date her. I even heard Ben Coogan was thinking about asking her out...seeing as though they are on the swim team together, it makes perfect since and they'd make like the hottest couple ever." She adds, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

I let out a sigh as I roll my eyes at this information. "So far all I've heard is nothing useful. Of course they want to plow her she's new, she'll be old news soon." I say flippantly.

Though part of me doesn't really believe that. But I can't let Mona know that. She'd never let me live that down.

"True, though I have failed to mention that her picture is hanging up next to yours for prettiest yearbook picture outside the cafeteria." Mona adds like it's no big deal.

Now this information causes me to stumble in my stride. "What?!" I asks through clenched teeth as I turn to face her.

Out of all the important information she decides to hold this back?

Useless.

Mona frowns then shrug. "I said-" she starts but I hold up my hand cutting her off.

"I heard what you said...don't fucking repeat it!" I say rolling my eyes. "Why am I just now finding out about it? How long has it been up?" I asks.

Mona shrugs again. "I don't know maybe since last Thursday. I thought you knew."

"If I knew don't you think I would have been taken this bitch down a notch." I say again before letting out a huff, running my hands through my hair.

But before I can respond the bell signals above us.

"Shit. Look I have to get to class, I can't deal with this now. I'll see you later." I say moving towards my class again.

Mona frowns in concentration as she regards me. "You're not threatened by her are you?" She asks suspiciously.

"Hell no! But when the villagers start rioting it's up to the queen to put them down." I say flipping my hair over my shoulder, spinning on my heels towards my class.

Once out of site I let my frown take over my face.

Who the fuck does this bitch think she is!

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Apparently she's the new it girl.

I've been through all of my morning classes and I can guarantee that if I hear her name again I'm going to burn this place down.

"So how hot is this Emily chick right?" Noel Khan says as he leans against the locker right next to mine.

Urggggg!

I shove my book in my locker before slamming it shut. I shoot him a harsh glare before I turn on my heel and storm towards the lunchroom, the entire hall parting for me and Noel.

"What jumped up your butt?" Noel asks trying to keep up with me as I move through the hall.

"Nothing." I mutter through clenched teeth.

Noel just smirks at my anger. "Is it because everyone is falling over this Emily girl?" He asks knowingly. "You shouldn't worry Ali, you're still the hottest chick that I'd never hit. But if it makes you feel better, I'll sleep with her then dump her...then she'll be old news." He says with a shrug.

I roll my eyes at his pervertedness. "Oh Noel your so noble, taking one for the team." I say sarcastically.

"Exactly." Noel says stuffing his hands in his pocket, giving me his stupid boyish smile.

Once we get to the cafeteria we stop outside, both of us looking up at the pictures hanging up outside.

They range from hottest couple, to class clown. Noel of course won hottest guy. The same smile he gave me a moment ago reflecting in the photo up on the wall.

Then there's mine. Which of course is flawless but a miracle in itself.

After I got that rash from my make-up kit, I didn't think I would recover, but somehow I did, and this picture is a reflection of that, and so is the endorsement deal that Cover girl gave me to wear their makeup and post pictures online. Then I turn to see Emily's picture hanging up right next to mines...and fuck she's gorgeous.

I really hate that I have to keep admitting this and dammit this will be the last time I do.

I'm bringing an end to this shit once and for all.

"Are you okay Ali?" I hear Noel ask from my left. "I can practically see the smoke coming out your ears." He says with a smirk.

"Shut up Noel." I mutter as I start digging through my bag to find the file that Mona gave me on Saturday. "I have something to do. Don't follow me." I order.

Noel just puts his hands up in a surrendering motion before making his way towards the popular table without any objections.

That's the one thing about Noel, he's like the perfect puppet. Not to mention my favorite. But don't tell Mona. She'd flip her shit.

I enter the cafeteria and look around. I can see all the lingering stares, most of them are apprehensive because I'm sure they can see the anger radiating off of me.

But they shouldn't be worried. They're not my target.

But she is.

I spot Emily Fields sitting a table off to the side in the cafeteria, next to Lucas Gottsman.

I knew she was just a damn loser.

I narrow my eyes as I storm over towards her. Her back is facing me so she can't see me approaching her. Good thing to, because I wouldn't want her to get up and run away. Not that she would anyways.

As I round the table I slam the file down, startling her and Lucas simultaneously.

I wait for her to say something, but so far all she's done is look down at the file.

I sigh and roll my eyes.

"Emily Fields, I thought we'd never meet again...or should I call you scooter girl?" I asks innocently, with a head tilt.

I hear her audibly swallow her food before she picks up the picture. "Wow. That's an unflattering picture of me." She says with what sounds like a nervous chuckle. "I like the one hanging in the hallway much better...don't you?" She asks with an innocent head tilt.

And I'm taking aback by her respond.

This isn't the same girl that I bumped into in the cafeteria a while ago. The girl with the glasses that damn near shit her pants when I told her to never show her face again.

But this is definitely the girl from the party. The one with the snotty, sarcastic attitude. Who took the shit I handed her and threw it back, and then some.

"Uh...I think...I mean I forgot I had to meet a friend in the library. I'll see you later Em." Lucas says quickly gathering his things before quickly fleeing the room. This causes many people to look over at us in interest. Because if we didn't have their attention we sure do now.

I see Emily give him an unimpressed look before rolling her eyes. She turns back towards me and gives a shrug "What can I say you can't buy loyalty..." she stated before something over my shoulder catches her attention. "But I guess you can scare it into people." She says with a shrug.

I'm sure she's making a jab at my group of friends over at the table watching us with curiosity. Everyone is trying to be discreet except for Noel and Mona who was out right just staring.

I look back to Emily to see her give them a wave.

Fucking bitch!

"So what do I owe this visit?" She asks as she pulls her lunch tray back in front of her to resume eating her food.

"I don't know what you're up too but it ends now." I says placing my hands on the table, leaning slightly into her personal space.

If she's threatened by me at all, she's definitely good at not showing it. She just continues to eat her food, occasionally looking up at me to gauge my reaction.

"Honestly I have no idea what your talking about." She says with a shrug.

I roll my eyes at her nonchalant behavior. "Pfft! Yeah right. You literally changed your entire appearance just to what?...look in the mirror at yourself." I asks incredulously.

Emily smiles at me. "What's wrong...you don't like my new look?" She asks, looking down at her clothes.

And all to suddenly I'm reminded of my dream of her. I can still see that denim outfit as she looked down casually as if her entire presence wasn't causing a disturbance within my body.

But this time she's not wearing anything like that. Just a simple tight top, a skirt and a pair of 4inch heels. And make no mistake, when I say simple. I mean anything but. Her entire presence is causing me great discomfort and I'm trying my best not to let it show.

What the fuck is wrong with me!?

I guess Emily was waiting for some kind of response because she just tilts her head curiously as she raises an eyebrow at me. She takes the spoon she was using to eat her yogurt and slides it inside of her mouth. And although the motion wasn't provocative, my body definitely responds like it is. I have to physically shake my head to get the image out of it.

Emily frowns in concern. "You okay?"

I sigh and roll my eyes. Not at her though. Myself. Definitely myself. "Just stop. Whatever your doing stop it! I don't want to have to embarrass you." I say turning on my heel to leave.

"Wait!" Emily calls after me. "Don't you want to sit down, have lunch with me maybe?" She asks slightly timidly. "Seeing as though you just chased away my only lunch companion."

I stare at her for a moment, unsure of what her intentions are, but they have peaked my curiosity. I guess I'm slightly interested in getting to know more about her.

And I say that in the most sarcastic way possible. Because slightly interested isn't a strong enough word.

But still I can't let her know that. So I just fold my arms across my chest giving her an uninterested look.

"Aww come on. If you we're going to be mortal enemies at least we should know more about each other." Emily says with a smile.

I have to roll my eyes to keep my own smile at bay.

I huff and sit down across from her. Immediately she takes the salad off her plate and hands it to me, along with her water.

When I stare at the plate with confusion she just rolls her eyes. "Come on if was going to poison you, I'd put it in your lipstick." Emily threatens.

It wouldn't be the first time someone did that. Good thing my lips didn't swell that day. Because there was no recovering from that.

But wait...does this mean that she's the one who...?

"Why my lipstick?" I asks curiously.

Emily seems to be in thought for a moment as she fails to respond as fast as I want her too. "Well because your always applying it" she says with a shrug before frowning at me. "What did you think I meant?" Emily asks as she takes a bite out of the sandwich that's on her plate.

I just glare at her. "What are you stalking me?" I bite out.

Emily laughs and shakes her head. "You're Alison Dilaurentis. Everything you do is posted on live broadcast for everyone to see. Just because I have better things to do with my time doesn't mean I don't tune in from time to time." She adds with a wink.

I huff in response before taking a bite of the salad in front of me.

"Well I guess now that I've shared my salad with you, I can tell you more about me...but seeing as though you have an entire file on my existence, there's nothing more I can really say that you don't already know." Emily says with a shrug. "So I guess a better way to start is asking what do you wanna know?" She asks.

I frown in confusion for a moment. Is she seriously just offering up information to me. Doesn't she understand that with the right question and unlocked information I can take her down by the snap of my fingers.

"Why are you sitting alone?" I ask.

This is not the question that's been plaguing my thoughts.

But the ones that come across my mind doesn't seem too appropriate.

Emily seems to consider the question as she swallows the food in her mouth. "Well my transition didn't really reward me with new friends. Only people who are trying to sleep with me or use me to get the gossip on the 'new girl'. And seeing as though I'm new to this, it's taking me sometime to get used to this limelight. So once an outcast, always will be one...here I go again on my own right." She says with a small laugh.

But I don't join her in laughter.

I don't find any of this funny.

Not her endless rambling nor her stupid snort of a laugh.

I show her how I feel. I frown at her.

Emily frowns in return. "You okay? Are you not enjoying your salad?" She asks gesturing towards the neglected meal.

I huff and roll my eyes. "This is so not worth wasting my time over." I say pinching the bridge of my nose.

Emily smiles at me innocently. "You don't have anymore questions, I'm really enjoying our conversation." I give her an incredulous look because honestly I can't tell if she's being serious or sarcastic.

"Your joking right." I stand abruptly causing her to raise her eyebrows in surprise, that's the only reaction I get out of her though. "This was a waste, you're no threat to me. Honestly I don't know what you are. Just stay out of my way and I'll pretend you don't exist...got it." I ask rhetorically as I turn to leave.

"See that's the thing..." Emily starts stopping me from leaving.

I let out a groan in disdain before turning around, giving her my attention.

"I really need to find a new group of friends, and since we hit it off so well at the party, I was wondering if I could start hanging out with you?" Emily asks.

No I should really say, she had the balls to ask.

That party was a joke, and so was meeting her.

I look at her for a moment waiting for her to laugh or do something to indicate that her statement was a joke or something. But after a moment I realize that she's not joking, she means every word that she's saying.

But it doesn't hurt to check.

"You're joking right?" I asks.

Emily smirks snd shakes her head. "Look, the school is trying to pin us against each other. They want us to be enemies. And I don't want that...I think we could be best friends. You can show me the ropes and I could follow you around like I care." She says with a shrug.

I squint my eyes at her in confusion. "If you don't care, why are you trying to become apart of my group?" I ask.

Emily shrugs again. "Like I said, we could be best friends."

"I already have a best friend." I say referring to Mona or Noel. I'm not sure of who I'm referring to right now, but just know that it's one of them.

"I said Bestfriend not flunky." Emily adds.

I have to bite my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing at her abrasiveness.

I stare at her for a moment, appraising her appearance. Like we all know, she's the hottest thing I've seen in a while. The problem is she's to hot...I don't need her competing with me for team captain of my lackeys, I already have to put down Jenna every once in a while, I don't need to create more competition.

"I'm flattered that you want to be apart of my A team but I'll have to pass." I say flatly, turning to leave.

"Aww come on, your not going to make me work for it are you?" She asks with a head tilt. "I've already been invited over to the popular table by Mona and Jenna today alone."

For some reason this information angers me. "If your so popular with my friends, why are you sitting here alone then? And not taking over my table?" I asks through gritted teeth.

"Because silly, the invitation isn't special unless it's coming from you." Emily says sweetly, and for a second I believe her.

It also causes a light blush to appear on my cheeks.

I'm really starting to hate this girl.

"Again, thanks for the offer but I'll have to pass." I say.

But again I don't get the reaction I crave for. Emily doesn't frown nor pout she just smiles at me. As if she knows something that I do not.

This girl is certifiably insane.

All I can do is shake my head as I begin to walk again.

But before I'm to far away I hear Emily's voice over the roar of the lunch room.

"See you around Alison." Emily calls out, I'm sure she's sporting that stupid smirk on her face.

I try not to let our conversation sit to long in my head as I join Mona and Noel at our table.

"What was that about?" Mona asks.

"Is she as hot up close as she is far away?" Noel asks almost a second later.

I refuse to answers Noel question as send him a glare, I then turn and direct it towards Mona. "You tell me, since you've already invited her to become apart of our group." I nearly say through clenched teeth. But I'm doing everything I can to hide my annoyance.

Mona notices my distress because she puts her hand over my arm. "I only did that to see if she would except the offer. I was trying to see what her game plan was. If she wanted to take over or just be one of us." Mona explains.

This peaks my interest.

"And what did she say?" I ask curiously.

Mona just smirks. "That 'the only invitation worth excepting is from the Queen B herself'. She then thanked me and walked away." She lets out a laugh. "She's an odd one isn't she." Mona adds.

"Still she's hot." Noel jumps in again. "You should totally let her sit with us. I'm sure she'd make a great addition to the table."

I sigh and roll my eyes at him. He could be such a pig sometime.

"And why would you even think that?" I question even though I know the answer already.

"Because the further away she sits from is the less attention our table receive." Noel reason. Which to my surprise isn't all that pigheaded of a comment.

I'm impressed.

I look around the lunch room and sure enough everyone is either throwing quick glances at her or just outright ogles her. She doesn't seem annoyed, just uncomfortable, despite her best effort to look unfazed. When she looks up from her lunch she makes eye contact with me. She smirks and gives me a wave and I have to physically stop myself from rolling my eyes .

"This is temporary. By next week none of this will be a problem."

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

But I guess I would have to actually make it to next week.

I swear ever since our little conversation, she's popped up everywhere.

In the hall, in the girls bathroom on the second floor, by my damn locker. It was like Emily really was stalking me.

It was like I can hear that damn song, "Every breath you take" by The Police over the PA system, as I moved around paranoid, thinking she was always one step behind me.

By the time I entered her English class, I'd just about had it.

There Emily was sitting in her usual seat right behind me, just reading the book in her hand not even noticing my presence in the room.

What is with this girl?

"What is your problem?!" I asks as I storm up to her, placing my hands on my desk leaning into her personal space. "It's like you have a death wish."

I watch or you can say I imagined that she looked me up and down before going back to her book in hand. "I don't have the problem, or a death wish Alison." She says calmly.

I wanted to smack her.

"Your stalking me." I bluntly state.

By this time the class has now turned to focus on our conversation, but before they can become too invested, I shoot them all a glare and force them to turn to look away.

Emily closes the book she's reading, giving me her full undivided attention. "I think you're just being paranoid. Maybe I was all those places because I was meant to be." She says in a quiet voice to make sure that no one around us can hear. "The universe has a way of pushing two people across the paths of one another. Just ask my scooter and your car, after you tried to run me off the road." She says with a shrug. "But I really have been trying to avoid you, I think it's just coincidence."

Coincidence my ass.

I glare at her for a moment before turning around in my seat.

God it's like since Thursday she's been everywhere! I can't get away from this girl. And now she's trying to insert herself in my life permanently.

I can't even hear her name with freaking out, let alone be around her.

But why is she so interested in being my friend all of a sudden?

Before I can get the chance the bell sounds and Mr. Fitz walks in and our lesson begins.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

By the time school was over my brain was swimming.

All that was going through my head was this Emily girl. She had plagued my thoughts for the worst. If I wasn't thinking about how annoying she was I was picturing my dream that I had of her.

She was everywhere.

And to make it worst, some asshole had sent out a massive text, taking a poll to see who was hotter; me or Emily.

I didn't care to see the results, I was just unnerved because this was the furthest that anyone new to the limelight had ever gotten up against me.

We contrasted in beauty. Where she was dark I was light; from skin tone to eyes and hair, we were complete opposites. The angel and devil but in this case I might be the devil.

But regardless of our differences our beauty was comparable. And if I was smart I wouldn't let the comparisons get to far. I'd stop it now.

I'd take Emily under my wing and turn her into one of my flock. That way she's hidden beneath my wings.

So maybe I am the angel in this case.

Anyways, I should be happy about this. I just solved a potential problem. Same way I did with Shana, Sarah, and Sydney.

But why do I feel so apprehensive about this.

Like somehow inviting her into my inner circle might be the end of Alison Dilaurentis as we know it.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~

 **Hi guyyyssss I'm sorry about last update. It was supper late and when I posted it some type of coding appeared. But I fixed it and hopefully you enjoyed the chapters like you will this one. So from here on out as you can tell Emison is a go. Just let me know what you think. And I'll be posting soon again before school starts.**

 **On another note I have another story I've been working on. I want to post it and see what you think about it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi all, I just want to thank everyone for all the love I've received for this story you don't know how much it means to me that you guys are supporting this story. So from now this story will be posted every Sunday and for those who are now interested Yellow Paint, that story will be posted every Wednesday. I really hope you enjoy this one, it's all Emison. It just shows a development in their relationship. But next chapter, a lot of action is happening. Can't wait to post it. Enjoy!**

 **Alison Dilaurentis Must Die:**

 **Episode 7: Let us Compromise.**

 **Emily POV.**

"Final lap ladies!" I hear coach Fulton yell out somewhere around me.

My head is underwater at the time so I can't really tell where she's at right now, all I know is that I'm racing some girl on the team and I'm ahead.

After the Alison thing this morning, I couldn't wait to get into the pool. The entire thing was confusing and I hate to admit it, but I had no idea what I was doing.

It drained me, and I needed to rejuvenate somehow.

I practically flew here once the final bell rung.

Finally I hear the whistle blow just as I touch the wall and I pop out of the water barely gasping for air as I surface.

After swimming for so long you become skilled in the art of holding your breath and learning when to breathe at the right moments.

Sometimes I feel like my lungs are two iron machines that keep me ahead of everyone else. It's a weird analogy but you get the point.

Soon the girl I'm racing, Sydney Driscoll appears next to me breathing heavily as she attempts to catch her breath.

So that's who I was racing? I guess with my attention being elsewhere I just kind of spaced out and dived in the water when the coach blew her whistle.

Sydney is a very good swimmer. She's the best swimmer we have in the butterfly race.

And when it comes to relay, she's a close third coming in behind Paige...well when Paige used to be on the team, and of course I'm number one.

I mean I'm the anchor for a reason.

But still me and Sydney have about a four second difference between our time. And trust me four seconds is a long time when your trying to keep up, and even longer when your running away from someone.

But no matter, I beat her by almost 7 seconds. That's a pretty big gap. So either I was flying through the water or she was moving too slow.

"That's a personal best Fields." Coach says walking over, followed by the rest of the girls on the team, as I pull myself out of the water.

I guess it was me then.

"Thanks coach." I say with an appreciative smile.

"It's like your getting faster and faster by the day. I don't know what's gotten into you but could you try to sprinkle a little of that fairy dust over the ladies?" Coach Fulton jokes. "I want to see nationals this year."

I bite my lip to stifle my giggle.

A couple of them roll their eyes at her jab, some laugh, and others look me up and down appraisingly or angrily. I really can't tell at this point.

"Maybe it's the new makeover." I hear Sydney says behind me. "I bet when you lost the grandma underwear, everything just moved faster, especially in the water.." She jokes causing the girls on the team to laugh.

I turn to see her still in the water, resting her elbows against the edge.

Hmm, with her being on the swim team I forget she's now apart of Alison's flock. It's like you can see Alison Dilaurentis rubbing right off on her skin. She's definitely becoming one of them, not that sweet innocent swimmer that once swam along side of me.

"Don't be bitter Driscoll, try beating her with your talent not your words, it looks better." Coach Fulton says defending me.

I shrug and give Sydney a smug smile in return. And Sydney just rolls her eyes before pulling herself out of the water, sitting along the pool ledge. Keeping her feet dangling in the water. She takes off her swim cap and fluffs her hair as it cascades down her shoulders.

"Well that's the end of practice ladies. I'll see you all tomorrow. We'll be discussing the line up for Friday's swim meet and going over key things to get this victory. Now hit the showers and I'll see you tomorrow." Coach Fulton announces and everyone files out of the pool area.

I let out a sigh as I watch everyone disappear behind the doors.

"You know you should really work on not making the rest of us look bad." Sydney says to my right, with a small smile gracing her face.

I guess her bitch is only showing when everyone else is around.

Go figure.

Sounds like another person I know.

I try not to show my surprise to still see her sitting there. I thought she left with everyone else. "You mean the rest of you should work on not making me look so good." I joke back, taking my own swim cap off, along with my goggles.

"You're hilarious Emily, I can barely contain my laughter." Sydney says sarcastically while ringing her hair out.

I frown at her rude comments. "Have I offended you? You seem...I don't know...pissed at me about something." I say.

Maybe Alison's asking her to target me. I don't know shake me up a bit. Get my bones rattling. So I could leave her alone about joining the popular group.

Which by the way wasn't my best idea.

After my run in with Alison in the cafeteria, Hanna and the gang pulled me aside and told me a new kind of plan, one in which I put in motion myself, unintentionally I might add. I just did it to piss Alison off.

I never really wanted to be her friend nor join the popular clique, the plan was to take Alison down from the outside. Develop a relationship with my fellow nerds then start a revolution against her, but the more I talked to her, the more I could see I was getting under her skin. So of course I capitalized off it. I said things that I knew would piss her off.

Especially when she came up to the table and accused me of...well of being a loser before I changed my appearance.

During which I almost outed myself about being responsible for switching her makeup bag. Like why the hell would I mention poisoning her lipstick?

God that girl just knocks me off my rocket.

I'm literally a different person when I'm around her. Someone who I don't even recognize.

But anyways, I guess the girls set in the back of the cafeteria observing me and Alison's interaction. They watched with interest as we verbalized back and forth. After Alison left my table I received a cryptic text from Spencer telling me to meet them in the girls bathroom on the second floor.

Once I got there Spencer damn near ripped me a new asshole. She accused me of going off the books and that I was going to compromise the entire operation. Aria gave me a sympathetic look but agreed with Spencer nonetheless.

But Hanna...she just looked at me like I was puzzle piece, and that she had finally figured out the picture. She surprisingly took my side and said that we should try a new approach, the one I was taking about.

The one I regretfully took.

Now the new plan was to take Alison down from the inside out.

Which, judging from the way Alison responded from my previous offer to invite myself into the group, is not going to be easy.

None of this will be easy.

Alison hates me.

But the feeling is mutual.

Only difference is, I have to pretend to like her, to want to be her friend, get her to trust me, gain her secrets, then use them to take her down.

Now I really have my work cut out for me.

Lets just say when it comes to Alison I'm not a lucky person.

Its as if I walked under a latter or something, or broke a mirror, because as the girls disappeared from the bathroom, I stayed a little while to calm down and collect myself. As I turned to leave, in walked Alison, and when she saw my face...well lets just say I thought she was a descended of cyclops with the way she melted the skin off of my face with her eyes.

It was all an honest coincidence. Next thing I know she was accusing me of stalking her.

Pfft! The nerve of her.

I mean just because someone hides in a bush to watch you on a date, and watch you outside of the Brew as you hang with your friends doesn't mean that they are stalking you.

Okay I'm really not helping myself.

"Hello earth to Emily." I hear Sydney call out to get my attention.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. "Sorry, I spaced." I say with a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry what were you saying?" I ask. I'm kind of hoping it was nothing. I really need to get out of here. I'm exhausted and I really don't want to stand around having idle chitchat with Sydney.

Sydney rolls her eyes at me for missing most of the conversation. "I said that I saw you and Hanna Marin talking a couple of days ago in the student learning center. I overheard her saying something about giving you a makeover. Is this the same makeover she gave me, Shana and Sarah? Are you her new plot to take down Alison again?" Sydney ask with a knowing smirk.

I swallow the lump in throat.

Fuck. I might be screwed.

With the way she's looking at me, It resembles a hungry bear when he spots his prey...she knows things and now I have to lie about it. This could be her way of outing me to Alison.

"Uh no...me and Hanna happen to have Science together, and I'm helping her pass, and in return she's helping me look cool...I asked her to help me." I explain, praying that my fear isn't showing on my face.

"I don't know why, but I'm having a hard time believing you...maybe it's because I'm in that science class with you and Hanna and I've never seen you two exchange more than two words to each other." Sydney says her knowing look being accompanied by a raised eyebrow. She doesn't believe me.

I wouldn't either. I'm a horrible liar.

"Well maybe it's because she was embarrassed to be seen with me. It could explain the impromptu reason she's helping me now." I say as casually as I can with a shrug. "And if you don't mind me asking what plan to take down Alison are you talking about?" I asks as confused as I can.

I am the latest plan, but I would never tell Sydney that. I can tell she's loyal to Alison. There's nothing anyone can do to change that.

Sydney stares at me for a moment before she shakes her head looking away from me. "Nothing. Never mind." She lets out a deep sigh before she stands from the pool ledge.

I watch her in confusion. What was she expecting me to say? She seems really upset about something. I wonder is it a guilty conscience about how she became friends with Alison. Maybe she wants to redeem herself by pointing out that I'm a spy for Hanna.

Either way, I'll admit nothing.

"Hey..." I say stopping her from leaving. "What's it like hanging out with Alison and the popular crowd." I ask softly.

To be honest, I'm nervous about my mission, but if I could just get some insight maybe it wouldn't be all that bad.

Sydney shrugs. "I don't know, it's...okay I guess. Everyone in school knows your name, people let you get away with things you normally wouldn't, boys line up at your door just to say hi, and nerds do your homework for you just because you sit next to them in class. It's honestly more than I've ever had before I became popular." She says, with a wistful smile on her face.

"I'm sensing there's a big but coming on." I add when I see the look in her eyes.

Sydney smiles sadly at me. "But then you also have the job of being apart of the flock. We do what Alison wants, when Alison's wants, exactly how she wants it. When she says jump we say how high." She says with a self deprecating laugh.

I frown in confusion. "You don't have to do whatever she says do you?" I ask curiously.

Sydney scoffs "Yes. We have to go along with her stories, her stupid rumors, even if she's making them up." Sydney says. "Like the Paige thing." She says off handedly.

Wait what?! What Paige thing?

I turn to her, my jaw tightening in anger. If she's saying what I think she's saying, then I might flip my lid.

"What Paige thing?" I question out loud.

Sydney looks caught off guard by me speaking up. "I uh...nothing. It's nothing." She says scrambling to get pass me. But I'm quick to grab her by the arm to stop her retreat.

"Please tell me...what Paige thing?" I asks pleadingly. I really need to know what she's talking about.

Sydney looks nervously around. She refuses to make eye contact with me, choosing to look at her feet instead. "Well...after the rumor about Paige got started, it wasn't enough, Alison and Mona wanted her reputation unredeemable. So I was told to get her kicked off the swim team." She says shamefully.

Realization dawns on me, now I know that she was behind the entire thing. "You're the one who told coach that Paige made you uncomfortable. You convinced the other girls to do it too." I say shaking my head.

Sydney finally looks up at me with a sad smile. "Once I mentioned that Alison wanted her off the team, they fell in line right behind me." She ends with a shrug.

I can't believe this!

How could they just do that to Paige. She's been nothing but nice to them. Always looking out for the team and doing whatever is in their best interest. And at the drop of a dime they just turned their backs on her.

That's fucking ridiculous.

"Wow, Sydney...there's stooping low and then there's what you did." I say shaking my head at her.

Sydney lets out a scoff and glares at me. "Don't be so quick to judge me Emily. You're about to start doing the same things I've done. You want into Alison's popular clique so bad...well this is what it's about. You hurt people and you make dumb choices, because if you don't you'll be ostracized from the group and no longer protected, so the people you've hurt will come back for vengeance. You're entire high school career will be a joke, so you have to stay with the in crowd, otherwise you'll be a nobody again. And I'm sure you know how much that sucks! So yes Paige did get hurt in the process...but better her than me." She ends with an uncaring shrug.

"Well lets just hope that I never have to do what you did. You ruined her future. Shes going to lose her scholarships because of you. So I hope that when your sitting at the popular table looking down at everyone around you, you remember that." I say staring her right in the eyes.

This reason alone makes me believe in what I'm doing to Alison is the right thing to do.

She and her minions have to be stopped. Or everyone around them will be hurt.

Sydney looks down in shame before she flees the pool area, absent of a response.

And truthfully I didn't want one from her. There's nothing she could say to make me respect her anymore. I feel no sympathy nor do I care about her anymore than I do anyone else who would be so cruel to someone.

What she did was unforgettable. And once I get into the popular clique I'm going to make sure I fix what she did.

Fix what they all did.

I'm going to take them down.

But first I need to get on Alison's good side. I'll never be able to get into the popular group with the way she hates me.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

After I locked up the pool area and went into the locker room, Sydney was nowhere insight, which I was grateful for.

I didn't want to see her mug anyways.

I showered as quickly as I could and got the hell out of there. I couldn't wait to get home to eat and sleep the night away.

Today was crazy. And I'm to tired for crazy.

"You know, I get that being team captain you're always the last to leave the gym, but an hour is almost excessive." I hear a voice say as I approach my car in the near empty parking lot.

I look up slightly stunned. Clearly I'm seeing things and Alison Dilaurentis isn't leaning casually against my moms car. "Uhh...sorry?" I offer lamely. You have to excuse me I'm still in shock.

Alison smirks at me, loving the effect she has on me. I don't like that at all. "You don't have to apologize. I love the dedication...most people aren't that loyal to their craft. And you can't buy loyalty remember." She says with a shrug.

I don't respond. I just stare at her waiting for her to state her business.

If I'm being honest, I'm still reeling from what Sydney told me. I'm surprised my face isn't red with anger.

But I can't take that out on Alison or our plan will never work.

Alison must take the hint because she starts talking again. "I've been doing some soul searching, and I think I want to take you up on your offer about joining my group. I can see you serving a valuable purpose to the gang. So welcome aboard." She says with a casual shrug before turning to leave.

Ha. It's not going to be that easy.

"If I recall, that wasn't my offer." I say stepping closer to her. "I offered to be your best friend, not apart of your group." I say.

Alison frowns. "I told you, I already have a best friend" She says shaking her head at me.

"That's my offer." I say with a shrug stepping around her to my moms car. I toss my bag in the passenger seat, before slamming the door, and turning to face Alison again. "They're not your best friends. They suck off you, they use you for popularity. I mean beside shopping what else do you and Mona do? Do you guys go to the movies, go to restaurants...do Bestfriend stuff?" I ask.

Alison just glares at me. "Is that what you and Toby do? You guys paint each other toenails?" She challenges back.

"He's not a fan of toenail painting, but everything else...yeah we do." I say staring at her seriously. "But I am honored that you extended the invitation instead of Mona and Jena." I say walking around her again to get to the driver side of the car. I fling the door open, but pause before stepping inside. "Hopefully I'll see you around." I say with a shrug turning to enter the vehicle.

I'll give her some more time to reconsider my offer before I bring out the big guns of stalking her again.

What? It's all apart of the plan. And it worked the first time didn't it?

"Wait!" I hear Alison call out.

I pause in my effort of getting into the car. "Yeah?" I asks, giving her a curious expression.

"Okay lets test your proposal. What other type of stuff do best friends do?" She asks nervously.

I give her a big smile, which is more devious thing anything.

"Come on I'll show you." I say before getting into my car.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

I pull into the driveway of my house.

My mom should be home, but I know once I return her keys to her she'll be leaving shortly after. She's been texting me all day about having to get some shopping done for dinner later tonight.

Good. It'll give me sometime alone with Alison.

Out my side mirror I see Alison's car park in front of the house and not in the driveway.

When I exit my vehicle so does Alison, she follows me up to my door, and enters right behind me when I walk in.

"Your right on time Emmy, I was just about to call you." My mom says as she walks out of the kitchen, her head buried in her purse as she searches for whatever she's looking for. She finally looks up, with a smile on her face. "Oh you have company." She says, noticing Alison.

"Uh yeah...this is my friend from school, Alison." I introduce them.

My mom smiles even wider at the term 'friend' that I used. The last person I brought over as a 'friend' was Toby. Though I'm sure she knows that Hanna is more than my science lab partner. I just deny it, just in case things blow up. I wouldn't want her to get suspicious about why Hanna would stop coming over all of a sudden. The same thing will inevitably happen with Alison. But I have to tell my mom that she is my friend so I can gain Alison's trust.

In order for this to work I need Alison to trust me.

Alison gives my mom a loving smile, then shakes my moms hand. "It's good to meet you Mrs. Fields." she says politely.

And I can just see my mother swoon at her manners.

Which is all fake might I add.

"So what are you girls getting up to tonight?" My mom asks.

I toss my mom the keys to her car, as I hang my coat up on the hook. "Oh you know the usual: watch a movie, eat some junk food, do our homework, maybe even take a swim in the pool." I say with an unsure shrug.

"Sounds like you girls have a long night ahead of you. Well I won't hold you up. I'm heading to the store, text me if you need anything." She says heading out the door. She gives me one more proud mom smile before she disappears out the door.

I turn to see Alison staring at my mom with a weird look on her face.

I frown in curiosity but I don't ask her the questions that come to mind. Instead I start moving towards the living room. "If you want, we can start with watching a movie, I'll make some popcorn." I suggest.

Alison nods her head then heads into the living room. I go into the kitchen and put the popcorn on.

I have to take a deep breath before I enter the living-room.

Truth be told Alison makes me nervous. She always have, always will. Even when I'm bold enough to say what I need to say, I always seem to second guess my actions.

If only I had the girls right here next to me to help with this anxiety.

I could just picture what they'd say:

Spencer with her rational view point/approach: 'It's just acting Emily, all you have to do is pretend to like her. You don't really have to.'

Aria with her understanding approach: 'It's okay if you don't want to, will try again another time.'

Hanna's kick in the ass approach: 'Uh yes the fuck you do, we need you to do this. You're the only one who can do this.'

And she's right. I have to do this. I'm the only one.

I mentally give a slight head nod to Spencer, a loving smile to Aria, and a salute to Hanna.

Okay, I can do this.

When I walk into the living room, I find Alison searching through my DVD collection. She has a couple options displayed out in front of her. Her eyebrows scrunched down concentration as she debates on what to decide.

I walk over, peering over her shoulder to get a better look at the collections she has. My Girl, Mean girls, and one of my favorites John Tucker must Die.

"I can't decide." She announces. For some odd reason her voice startled me, even though I'm the one that snuck up upon her.

"How about that one." I say pointing to the DVD in her hand.

Alison studies my case for a moment before nodding her head. "Okay." She says softly before sliding the movie into the DVD player. She stands up and smooths out her sundress, before walking to sit on the sofa.

I turn to look at her. She looks nervous, slightly uncomfortable like she's never done this before. I give her a reassuring smile. "Rule number one when it comes to best friendship, we always share the sofa. And we sit as close as we can. Is that okay with you?" I ask. But I don't give her enough time to answer before I'm sitting next to her, and really close.

Alison's stiffens when my arm brushes against her own. She clears her throat, as if to not draw attention to it.

But of course I noticed.

She's so distant from everyone that she knows, that it makes her uncomfortable when someone gets close to her.

It's sad really.

"Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?" I ask knowingly.

Alison clears her throat again. "No. I'm fine." She says, lifting her head up defiance.

"Good." I say with a smirk as the opening credits finish rolling and the movie begins.

We've decided to watch John Tucker Must Die. It's literally like my favorite movie. I mean who doesn't love a possible or tragic love story.

I look over to see Alison watching the movie with a frown on her face. She's really into it, it's like she's never seen it before.

"Is this your first time watching this?" I asks curiously.

She nods her head yes. "I just don't understand why they didn't just get every girl he was involved with and start a riot. I'm sure as many girls as he's hurt they'd be willing to kick his ass altogether." Alison says, never taking her eyes off the screen.

Hmm that's a good point but way too easy.

"The trick isn't to just start a riot, that's to temporary. The girls would rally against him but then in due time they'd just forget and forgive. It would all steam from hurt and not rationality so the second he apologizes it would all be for nothing." I explain. "You have to exploit his weaknesses, make him feel bad for all the things he's done to those girls, before you take him down. That way, when they kick him he'd stay down for good."

"That's a good plan in all, but it won't work. He doesn't have any weaknesses. He's recovered from every prank they've pulled. They won't win." Alison retorts back.

"Pfft, that's not true. Everyone has a weak spot. You just have to exploit it. For him it's his heart...he's scared that if he likes a girl she won't like him for him. So he acts like a douche to impress them, keep them on their toes. So they do that very thing. They give him the girl of his dreams then shatters his dreams. It breaks his heart...they win." Emily says softly.

Alison finally looks away from the television to face me. "That sounds a little cruel." She says just as soft, not breaking the bubble I've created.

"Haven't you ever heard the term you have to be cruel to be kind." I say.

"Yeah but, doesn't that make them just as bad as he is. They're playing the same games he played and they're breaking his heart just like he broke theirs. It's like looking in a mirror for them. The monster that they hate they've become." Alison explains.

I frown. "Well yeah, but still..." I'm trying to come up with a valid reason to argue against what she said but I can't come up with anything.

Alison gives me a soft smirk before turning to face the TV again.

We're on the scene when Beth and Kate are in the car practicing how Kate should kiss John.

I watch Alison fidget out the corner of my eye. She crosses her leg over the other and wrings her fingers together.

Why did that make her so uncomfortable?

Then I remembered the Paige thing.

She hates Lesbians.

I lean over closer towards her, so my lips lightly brush up against her ear. "You know, I never understood why guys get so turned on by watching two girls make out. It's not really that big a deal...don't you agree?" I ask. I watch her swallow the lump in her throats before turning to face me.

Her eyes are a bit darker. But it's not from anger... I don't know where it's coming from.

Her breathing is slightly off to. It's deeper and more ragged.

I almost want to ask her if she's okay but I think wiser of it.

I don't want her to blow up at me. It's looks like she's about to blow up at me.

"Shouldn't there be popcorn." Alison responds with instead. Her voice raspy and barely above a whisper.

I tighten my jaw in anger. She's avoiding admitting what she really wants to say. "Sorry I must have forgotten." I say with a forced smile before standing up and fleeing to the kitchen.

Fuck! I let out a deep breath running my hand over my face.

Okay I just need to recuperate then go back in there.

This is harder then I thought. I know I'm making it look easy, but I can feel myself fumbling over my own toes. I don't know how to be cool nor do I know how to impress her.

So far I've just seemed to piss her off.

I grab the bag of popcorn and pour it in a bowl.

I take another deep breath before walking back in the living room, but Alison is nowhere in sight.

What the hell.

Then I hear a noise from upstairs in my room. I set the bowl down on the table before fleeing up the stairs after Alison.

When I enter my room she's facing my trophy shelf, the same shelf that Spencer examined when she came in.

Tells a lot about your personality if that's the first thing you notice. She's definitely an over achiever.

"You truly are an accomplished swimmer." Alison says picking up on of the trophies.

"Thank you." I say with a curt nod. "But you know it's not polite to enter someone's room without their permission." I tease.

Alison gives me a smirk, borderline seductive. "Are you afraid that I'd find something worth telling?" She asks. She then picks up a snow globe that was on my shelf and shakes it up. Soon the mini Rosewood town inside the glass is surrounded by snow. "This is so beautiful. I collect these too, but never have I had one like this." She says in awe.

"It was my grandmas. She left it to me when she passed. She said it's worth millions, it's one of the first of its kind." I say walking over to where she is.

Alison hands me the snow globe then walks over and plops down on my bed. She lies backwards, stretching her arms out, her hands going under my pillow. "Ohh what's this?" She asks pulling out my journal, then sitting up again. "Do Mrs. Fields like to document her days in and a diary" She asks starting to open the journal.

Shit.

"Hey don't read that, that's private." I say attempting to grab it.

"Ah ah ah. What type of 'best friends' would we be if I didn't get to know your inner most thoughts." She asks teasingly.

"A bad one if you get them from reading my journal without my permission." I say, reaching for it again. "Seriously Alison give it back." I say reaching for it again. But like an idiot, I trip over my feet and I'm falling on top of her.

Alison lets out a deep groan as I come down on her. I quickly place my hands on both sides of her head to help lift myself up, levitating some of my weight. I look down at her face to make sure I haven't hurt her but she's biting her lip to stop the laughter from spilling out.

I let out a giggle of my own as I lift up. "Sorry if I crushed you... well actually I'm not, you kind of deserved it." I say with a teasing smile.

"Abuse is never the answer." Alison says, placing a hand on my shoulder as she gets her laughter under control. I know she's about to push me off of her but before she does I take this opportunity to reach for my journal. This causes me to shift slightly, my right leg falling between her thighs, her sundress slightly rising up in the process as I reach up to take the journal with my right hand my left still supporting myself. Alison lets out another groan. I think I'm pressing to much weight onto her.

"Who says this is abuse...it could be something else entirely." As I speak these words I slowly pull the journal out of her grasp.

"What else exactly could this be?" Alison asks. Her eyes are darkening again and her breathing is back off.

I think my close proximity is causing her to become angry again.

I should speed this up before I ruin any chance of being friends with her.

"This could be a ploy just to get my journal back out of your hand." I say using my free hand to push off of the bed. I give her a cheeky smile as I straighten out my clothes, journal in hand.

Alison's shakes her head before running her hands through her hair. "Well aren't you clever." She says clearing her throat.

I chuckle before taking my journal and placing it in my underwear draw. I turn to see Alison shifting on my bed. She looks uncomfortable again.

I'm not doing a good job at getting on her good side.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"So what else do best friends do?" She answers back ignoring my question.

"We haven't finished the movie...you'll miss the best part." I say.

Alison just shrugs. "I got bored. Besides I never like to watch the end of a movie. I'm sure they all got what they deserved." She says.

Oh you have no idea.

I stare at her for a moment. Taking in her appearance. Her eyes are starting to return to normal and her breathing back to regular.

"We swim." I say, reaching in my swim wear draw to pull out two swim suits. One for me and her. "I know you enjoy it...it could be fun." I say. I toss her one.

She appraises it. "Yellow. That's my favorite color." She says.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

We both enter my back yard clad in our bathing suits.

I set our towels down on the sunbathing chair. I turn to see Alison staring out at the water.

She's beautiful in her bathing suit. Yellow is definitely her color. The swim suit brings out her curves and definitely highlight her assets.

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. I have to remember to keep my eyes on the prize. My mission is not to fall in bed with Alison Dilaurentis but to become her friend.

But still I can appreciate beauty when I see it.

"Don't worry the water isn't that cold." I say when I see Alison's apprehension on jumping in the water.

She tilts her head at me before a smirk incases her lips. "Try to catch me." Alison's says diving into the water.

Flawless might I add.

I smirk, catching a small sense of deja vu from the first time we swam together. I dive into the water after her.

Alison is already touching the other side of the pool by the time I catch up to her. But soon we're matching each other in stride, lap for lap, as we move through the water together.

Of course I'm taking it easy on her, but again she's a pretty decent swimmer. As we approach our final lap, we're both fighting for the lead. I don't want to lose, so I put in more effort, easily giving me the lead. But right when I'm about to reach the end I hear Alison let out a high pitch scream. I turn to see her floating in the middle of the pool, holding her leg.

Shit.

I quickly swim back to her, but before I can reach her Alison flies towards the edge of the pool. Touching the ledge before I can even turn around.

"I won."

My mouth drops open in shock. Now I really am dealing with a case of Deja Vu. She used the same trick as she did before to beat me. And like an idiot I fell for it. Again.

Alison swims back over towards me. A smirk permanently etched on her face. "Beat cha." She gloats as she floats over towards me.

"You cheated!" I say defensively, but Alison's smug smile never drops from her face.

"You know this is the same thing that happened before. Man it seriously works every time." She says shaking her head at me teasingly.

"Ohhh so your acknowledging that you've cheated before?" I asks as I float closer to her. "Admitting is the first step of realizing you have a problem. Don't worry I'll coach you through the rest." I joke.

"Oh please. I don't have a problem. Your just easy fuck with." Alison jokes back.

We fall into a comfortable silence as we both float on our backs, starring up at the sky.

"So is this what best friends do?" She asks softly.

"Oh yeah. What... your not finding this relaxing?" I asks knowingly.

"I am." She states.

I look over at her. She has her eyes closed and a relaxed look on her face. She looks serene, younger than she normally does.

If you would have told me 24 hours ago that I would be swimming in my pool with Alison Dilaurentis, I would have laughed in your face. It's crazy how these things play out if you let them.

I guess she's not as bad as I thought she was, but I think that's just because we're alone. I know the second we get in front of everyone she'll be singing a different tune.

That's why I have to get as much information about her as I can now.

"So Alison, tell me about yourself." I say.

Alison's lip quirks up in amusement but she doesn't open her eyes. "How first date of you Emily." She states.

I laugh. "Well we are on a first date...our first friendship date." I defend.

She finally peeks at me from the corner of her eye. "Okay. Well if I answer questions, you have to answer them too. Deal?" She ask.

"Okay. Deal." I agree easily. "So first question...what is your dream job in life." I ask.

"My dream job? Really? I thought you were going to asks me deeper questions than that." Alison's says with a light scoff.

"Would you rather me ask you those types of questions?" I inquire.

"No. The other question is fine." Alison says. "Hmm, well I always wanted to go into the industry, model maybe..." she answers with an uncaring shrug.

I turn to stare at her. "How stereotypical of you. You're already a model apparently..." I say referring to her Cover Girl contract. "And no offense but I know your beautiful but I don't see you using your looks to get you far in life, you seem much deeper than that. So I'll asks again what are you good at that no one would suspect...something that only excites you. And be honest." I say the last part slight forcefully.

Alison returns my look, she studies me closely before she nods her head. "I want to be a journalist. Maybe a anchor woman. I want to investigate stories, travel the world, write hard hitting exposes." She says with a wistful smile on her face.

"Now that sounds like a dream job." I comment softly.

Alison looks over at me smiling softly. A pink blush gracing her cheeks. She clears her throat. "So what about you? You want to go to the Olympics, be some big time swimmer?" She asks with a tease.

I smirk and nod my head impressed. "That would be nice but I'd only use the money to put myself through medical school. I want to be a doctor." I state.

"Wow, I imagined you becoming some type of water goddess, like a mermaid, someone little girls could look up too and boys would have wet dreams about." Alison's says playfully.

I let out a laugh. "I don't know about all that...but I'm no one to look up to. I swim because I love it, and because it provides a means to an end. That's all I can ask for." I say honestly.

Alison smiles at me. Like genuinely smiles at me. "I wish I could love something like that. As deep as you do." She admits.

I swim closer to her, my arm slightly brushing hers. "I'm sure you do. You just don't like to admit it...maybe you see it as your weakness."

Alison doesn't respond to that instead she just nods her head.

"This is weird. I've never been this close to someone before." Alison states in a whisper.

"Do you mean friendship wise or do you mean physically. Because either way I'm more than comfortable with our proximity." I say cheekily.

Alison rolls her eyes but doesn't fight the smile that breaks through her face. "Your still a bitch you know that?" She says. But there's no heat behind her words just smiles.

"Yeah." I comment. "Yeah well that's why we're a match made in heaven" I say with a shrug.

"Funny Emily, really funny." She says shoving my arm.

Just then we're interrupted by my mom opening the back door. "Emmy honey, I'm about to start dinner. Why don't you get washed up. Alison dear, are you staying for dinner?" My mom yells out into the back yard.

I turn to see Alison giving my mom that strange look again.

"Uh Alison..." I call out getting her attention. She looks at me with a dazed look. "Are you staying for dinner?" I asks

She shakes her head. "Uh no. I better get going. I'm sure my mom is expecting me home."

"You sure?" I ask. She seemed a bit sad at the thought of leaving.

"Yeah...I really don't want to intrude." She explains.

"Nonsense. The more the merrier. My mom loves cooking for people. She always makes to much. Now she has an excuse." I turn to give my mom a thumbs up.

She smiles brightly before fleeing back into the kitchen.

Alison seems to brighten at the thought of staying for dinner and in try to ignore the fluttering of my heart at the sight.

~X~X~X~X- Later that Night -X~X~X~X~

Dinner went off without a hitch.

And my mom loved Alison. She was practically eating out of the palm of her hand.

Alison's kept a shit eating grin on her face the entire time. She seemed to really be enjoying the conversations she was having with my mom. I learned things about her that I never would have if I would have asked her those questions.

It was weird to see her connect with another human being like the way she did with my mom. Normally when I see her she's always so standoffish, but at dinner she was so open and talkative it was...weird.

But then the night had to end, Alison received a message from her mom informing her of the time. So sadly we had to call the dinner short.

"Dinner was amazing Mrs. Fields, thank you for having me." Alison's say politely, as she helps my mom clear the table.

"Don't thank me, it's always nice to have someone over, with Toby gone I have no one here to eat all my leftovers." My mom jokes. "You are welcomed anytime." My mom adds for good measure.

Alison just gives my mom a wide smile before thanking her again. She turns to face me as I walk in stride with her to the door.

"Sooo...?" I ask as I bump her shoulder with my own.

"Soooo it's safe to say that I had an above average day." Alison says as I walk her to the door.

I smile at her attempt at being casual, but it's obvious that she enjoyed herself.

That smile won't come off her face.

I guess I really am more of a Bestfriend then Noel and Mona.

"I'll admit, I had an above average day as well." I say with a shrug. "And see being my friend isn't so bad. I'm fitting right in with you." I tease gently.

Alison just lets out a laugh and shakes her head.

What's so funny?

"Oh sweetie I was the easy one. Now you have to get pass Mona and the rest of them. And trust me that won't be a cake walk." She says waving goodbye. "Goodnight Emily." She adds a wink for good measure as she disappears out the door.

Fuck. She's right. I'm screwed. I'm definitely going to have to ask Spencer and the girls for help on this one.

I let out a sigh as I lean against my front door.

Today was just weird. And...weird. Im sure if I say that anymore you'd probably start to believe me.

I'm glad that today is over with. It had some ups and down but very informative.

I think I've finally won my way into Alison's trust and that's all I needed. I could careless about what the 'it' crowd thinks of me.

All that matter is Alison...because at the end of the day once you knocked down the queen of the thrown the rest of the kingdom topples down along with her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Alison Dilaurentis Must Die:**

 **Episode 8: Be Our Guest**

 **Emily POV.**

"So maybe I shouldn't sit with the popular kids at lunch." I say into my phone as I lie down on the grass staring up at the open sky.

 _"Your kidding me right? This is perfect! Your like so in there."_ Hanna practically screams into the other line of the phone.

Emily looks up to see Hanna sitting across the quad with a pair of binoculars as she watches me from the distance. "Why are you so far away? Come closer so I can slap you." I threaten lightly.

Hanna scoffs as she flicks me off.

"I saw that!" I hiss into the phone.

I see Spencer take the phone from Hanna, against her protest. _"Look Em. Alison said all you had to do was get in good with the popular group and you were in. Just laugh at their cruel jokes and agree with everything they say. And they'll be eating out of your hand."_ She says.

I sigh. "Fine." I say. "But why do we have to sit so far away from each other I'm lonely over here." I whine.

I see Hanna take the binoculars back from Spencer. " _Because we can't be seen together remember? Just do your damn job okay."_ Hanna barks at me.

I hang up the phone before dropping back on the ground dramatically.

"You know for the first time in my life I'm sort of jealous of someone." Alison says as she stands over me, barely blocking the sun from my eyes. "You can just lay here in the sun all day and not burn, meanwhile I look like tomato after three minutes." She teases with a smile.

"Then you'll have the entire school spray painting their skin red." I say back with a smile as I put my hand over my eyes as a makeshift visor. "It's a good look on you."

"Your too kind." Alison says sarcastically as she sits down next to me. "So how long were you planning on avoiding the cafeteria today?" She asks me knowingly.

I stare wide at her in surprise. How the fuck did she know.

"I'm not avoiding the cafeteria." I lie.

"Come on Emily, I practically saw you tuck and roll pass the cafeteria door." She says with a chuckle.

I look away from her in shame. "Sorry." I mutter sheepishly.

For some odd reason the thought of her being angry at me makes me nervous.

"Hey." She says grabbing my chin, forcing me to look at her. "You don't have to be scared of them. They're harmless. I was the one you should have been afraid of and, for some odd reason you didn't even bat an eyelash at me when I snarled at you." Alison says with a smile. Her dimples creating holes in her cheek.

I bite my lip to stop myself from brushing a stray hair behind her ear.

If this was a movie then we would have leaned in and kissed and a stupid love song would have played in the background and the camera would have zoomed out as the credits faded to black.

"Whats wrong?" She asks with a head tilt and a frown.

I blink to clear my thoughts and shake my head. "Uh nothing...it's just...has anyone ever told you, you have really blue eyes." I say.

I have know clue to what's coming over me right now.

Maybe it's her close proximity.

I need to get away from her.

Alison blushes a deep red before releasing my chin and leaning away from me. "So. I figured since you don't want to go inside the cafeteria, I'd bring lunch to you." She says pulling out a salad similar to the one I had yesterday.

"Uh..." I say taken aback by her kindness. "Thank you?" I ask unsurely.

"What? Don't look so shocked. On top of being a bitch, I can be nice too." Alison says with a smirk.

"Right. So is this the part where I take a bite out of the salad and fall into a coma." I ask jokingly but with an undertone of seriousness.

"Did you just compare me to an evil step mother?" She asks with a narrowed eyes.

"Uh...if I say no will you take a bite of this salad first."

Alison scrunches her face up before slapping me harshly in the shoulder.

"Ow. Hey I bruise easily." I say through a laugh.

Alison just shakes her head as she digs into her lunch, her smile never falling from her face.

I stare at her in wonder. Not even 24 hours ago she was wigging out on me just from running into her in the bathroom, and now she's acting like she's known me for years and it's...

Okay it's kind of freaking me out.

I thought it would take weeks to gain her trust but so far she's just willingly handing it over to me.

Especially last night.

"Okay so who are you and what have you done with Alison?" I finally say voicing my concerns.

Alison looks at me in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asks.

"Uh I don't know...maybe it's this new version of yourself that your presenting me with. I mean yesterday morning you were accusing me of stalking you and telling me that I'd never be apart of your group. And now your outside eating lunch with me like we're best friends."

"We are best friends remember." She says teasingly.

I give her a soft glare. "You know what I mean."

Alison smiles at me before looking away shyly. "I don't know." She says with a shrug. "Yesterday after we hung out it got me to thinking..." she says blushing at her words to come. "I guess I never really had a best friend before. Not one in a long long time I mean. It's been a while since I got to do the things we did yesterday...lately it's always been about shopping and gossiping that I never got the chance to actually become friends with the people I hang out with. It felt...I don't know...nice." She takes a deep breath. "So I guess I'm saying that I'll give this a try if you really want to, because I do. I like being your friend and hanging out at your house, and swimming in your pool and stuff."

I feel my entire heart leap into my throat at her words.

Damn it! Why did she have to go and say something like that.

Stay on task Emily.

I swallow the lump in my throat. "Ohhh, I know what this is about. You're using me for my pool." I joke.

Alison's eyes widen as she shoves me again. "Oh my god! you're such an ass!" She says trailing off with a laugh.

I stare at her for a moment before taking her hand. "No. I hear what your saying. I feel the exact same way." I say giving her hand a squeeze.

And for some reason the thought of giving Alison a chance at anything feels my tummy with butterflies.

I look up to see Hanna still watching us from across the quad with her binoculars in her hand. When's she spots me staring back at her she drops them, but even from the distance I can see the hurt look on her face.

What the hell is that about?

"So I was thinking, since you skipped out on meeting my friends at lunch today, we should all go bowling tonight. That way it's at a public place, and you can flee anytime you want or feel uncomfortable." Alison says pulling me out of my daze.

"Uh yeah. That sounds cool." I say clearing my throat.

"Good. And if it makes you feel better you can come by my house first. I'll prep you before the big test." Alison says with a smile that makes it hard to say no to her.

"Yeah. But first I have swim practice. So it'll have to be afterwards." I explain.

She frowns then nods her head. "I can wait for you. I have nothing better going on anyways." She says with a shrug.

I give her a smirk. "Are you telling me Miss Dilaurentis isn't as busy as she pretends to be?" I tease.

Again Alison rolls her eyes as she shoves me. "No. I'm saying that I'm clearing my schedule for you." She says softly.

Again I feel that weird fluttering in my chest.

"Okay cool." I say lamely because I can't stop the smile from taking over my face.

Just then the bell sounds and everyone around us begins gathering their things.

Alison stands along with the rest of them, before grabbing her bag.

"Wait you aren't going to help me clean up this mess?" I asks as she starts walking away.

"As I remember, you called me an evil step mother...so start cleaning Cinderella." She says with a smirk as she tosses her hair over her shoulder and strutting away.

If I wasn't so infatuated with watching her walk away, I would totally be pissed about this big mess I have to clean up.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

"So what's this I hear about you becoming BFF's with Alison Dilaurentis." Lucas asks as he leans against my locker. "Didn't two weeks ago she tried to run you over with her car?" He asks incredulously.

I let out a sigh as I shut my locker. "She's not that bad." I defend tiredly. I agree two weeks ago she tried to kill me. That's why my plan is to dethrone her.

But I can't tell him that, he'd blow my cover.

Hanna would skin me alive if that happened.

"That's such bullshit Emily and you know it." Lucas says in anger.

I bang my forehead against the locker the locker softly. "Don't do this Lucas." I say calmly.

"You're going to turn into one of them. You're going to become some raging bitch just like the rest of them!" Lucas yells at me causing everyone in the hall to stare at us.

"Lucas-" I start but I'm cut off by a loud voice interrupting me.

"Lay off Lucas! She takes enough crap from people around her, she doesn't need that shit from her friends to." CeCe says.

Lucas lets out a scoff. "Some friend." He spins on his heels to leave but stops midway. "And just so you know, I'm looking out for you...before you become one of them." He says in anger as he storms out.

I stare after him. A part of me wants to run after him and comfort him, because I know I hurt him. The other part knows that I can't...and that's the part I listen too.

"Are you okay?" I hear CeCe asks standing next to me.

I turn to give her an appreciative smile. "Yeah." I say shortly. I turn to start walking towards my class and CeCe follows along side of me.

"What was that about?" She asks curiously.

I glance back down the hall to see he's out of sight. "Honestly I have no idea."

Well I do. But I can't tell her because she'd tell Alison who in turn will kill me for tricking her.

"Well, whatever it was you shouldn't let him talk to you like that. You don't deserve that." CeCe says knocking her shoulder into mine.

"I think he'd disagree with that. I hurt his feelings...he's pissed at me for hanging out with your sister now." I say regretfully.

CeCe just frowns in confusion. "So why are you hanging out my sister? You two are just so...different. I mean she's a hot pepper on a sunny day and you're the ice cold water. You're needed and wanted for different things." She rationalizes.

Which is a weird enough analogy on it's on.

I laugh at her words. "Shouldn't you be more upset about the fact that he was insulting your sister, instead of trying to convince me of the same things he was saying." I reason.

CeCe just sighs and rolls her eyes. "I should be but me and my baby sister aren't on good speaking terms right now." She says with a shrug.

"Why?" I ask curiously.

CeCe just shakes her head. "I'll leave it to her to tell you. I wouldn't want to act as a cause to why you'd stop hanging out with her." She says sincerely.

"Well that's mighty big of you." I compliment as we stop in front of my class.

"What can I say I'm a mighty awesome person." She says with a smile.

"Eh your alright." I say with a shrug, a teasing smile gracing my face.

CeCe just laughs and rolls her eyes at me. "So all jokes aside what are you doing this Friday?" She asks.

"Hmm I haven't gotten that far in planning my weekend schedule yet." If she's about to ask me out I might lose it.

"Well I happen to know a spot where local bands like to play. For the most part the music's original but sometimes they do perform _some_ cover songs. And although I normally despise the act of butchering the classics, they're actually pretty good."'she says adjusting the straps on her backpack that's fallen down her shoulder. "But you should come check it out with me. I have a friend playing that night he can get us in for free." She gives me a small smirk.

I smile at her offer. "I'll have to clear my busy schedule but I think I can make it." I say cassually.

"Cool." She says biting her lip to stop the smile from splitting her face. "Well I better get to class or my impeccable attendance will be at jeopardy. I'll see you around." She say giving me a wink before walking away.

"See ya." I say waving my fingers at her.

When she's gone out of sight. I frown in confusion at myself.

Did I just agree to a date with CeCe Drake?

"It's weird seeing you and my sister talking together." Alison says appearing on my side.

I jump startled. "Geez Ali announce yourself you almost gave me a heart attack." I say placing my hand over my heart.

She gives me a cheeky smile. "You wouldn't be the first person I gave one too." She gives me a playful wink.

I roll my eyes at her but allow the smile to still grace my face.

Then she frowns slightly. "Okay two things. One what were you and my sister talking about? And two did you just call me Ali?" She asks the last question almost shyly.

I take a breath as I process her questions. I can't exactly tell her that I'm going out with her sister Friday. Because I don't think it's a date and I'm positive CeCe is 100% straight. I just know if they aren't on speaking terms then Alison will be pissed about me hanging out with her in general.

"Well, CeCe was defending my honor because a friend decided to use the hallway as my murder scene, and...yeah I did call you Ali, it just kind of slipped out. Is that okay?" I ask just as shyly as she did.

Ali nods her head as she now process my words. "You know if your having trouble with someone you can let me know and I'll take care of them...no one messes with my BFF" she says teasingly as she knocks her shoulder into me. "And yeah I like when you called me Ali...but now I get to call you Emmy or Em whichever you prefer."

I let out a small laugh. "Where on earth did you hear the name Emmy?" I ask. Not a lot of people call me Em.

Alison just shrugs. "I heard your mom call you that. And I just thought it was so adorable." She pinches my cheek while jutting out her bottom lip like I'm some adorable baby.

I try to hide my smile as I swat her hand away from my cheek. "Stop it...Em is fine." I tell her. The only other person who calls me that is Toby. Hanna doesn't even call me Em.

I look down at my watch to see the time "Fuck!" I exclaim. "I'm going to be late for history...Mr. Davis is going to give me detention." I says slightly frustrated.

History was almost on the other side of the building, a million miles away from my locker. I'd miss practice again.

Alison just shrugs. "Well lets just skip." She says casually.

What!

I trip over my feet when she says that.

Alison grabs my arm to stop me from toppling over. "Are you okay Em."

My heart flutters at the use of the nick name.

"Uh yeah...I just...I've never skipped before." I says lamely.

Alison's eyes widen comically at my words. "You're kidding right?" She asks with a smile, when I shake my head no her smile drops. "Em your a sophomore that's like the first thing you should have learned your freshman year."

"Really, I thought the first thing I should have learned was where the girls bathroom was located." She swats my arm playfully.

"I'm serious Em. Okay so that's what we're doing today. We're ditching the rest of your classes." She says excitedly.

"Uh okay..." I agreed because I doubt I had a choice.

"So think of the one place that you love to go, secluded from everyone else in the school." Alison says.

Just then the bell sounds and everyone in the hall breaks into sprints trying to get to class.

A linebacker on the football team comes charging our way and I'm sure with the determined look on his face, as he mutters something about his coach killing him, he has no trouble knocking us down if we don't get out of his way.

Thinking quickly I push Alison and myself out of the way. We land against the row of lockers, well Alison does, I land pushed up against her.

I watch as he disappears around the corner. "Geez he could have trampled us." I say shaking my head at his retreating form.

When I get no response I turn to see Alison just staring at me. Her pupils are dilated and her breathing is irregular. She's not even given me eye contact she's looking down at my lips.

Do I have something in my teeth?

Dammit I knew I should have flossed after eating that salad.

I look down taking in our position. One of my legs has slipped in between hers and my hands are firmly planted on her hips. Our chest is pressed up against each other. I can feel the beat of her heart and her breathing pattern as she inhales and exhales.

Hmm I never realized how tiny she actually was compared to me.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to be all up in your grill." I say teasingly as I step back.

Alison shakes her head and looks away from me. She nods her head excepting my half hearted apology. "It's okay." Her voice comes out in a raspy tone. She quickly clears her throat. "Uh...so how about that spot?" She asks again, with a strained smile.

Dammit I'm forever causing her to be uncomfortable.

I stare at her for a moment debating my next move. It's hard for me not to gain her trust without opening up myself. So I'll do what I've never done before.

I'll show her my special place. One that only Toby knows about.

"Come on I'll show you." I say grabbing her her hand and taking her up to the back stair way.

These stairs lead to up to the second then third floor. Our third floor used to be used for recreational sports like dance; but the school build a better studio in the basement and abandoned this one.

So when I need a break from the rest of the world I come up here.

No one ever comes up here.

It's my own little happy place.

As we approach the doors I take out a key and unlock the pad lock.

The janitor is a close friend of mine.

I push the doors open and cut the lights off.

Alison walks in with a smile. "Wow." She says looking around. "What is this place."

I shut the doors behind us before stuffing my hands in my front pockets. "It's my special place." I tell her.

She turns and smiles at me. "This place is cool." She starts to do small twirls as she makes her way around the room.

And I take this time to walk over towards the stereo that's installed into the back corner wall. I take out my phone and plug it up to the cord, then find my favorite song to slow dance too.

See I told Mya that I didn't know how to dance...but that wasn't exactly all the way true. I love dancing. I dance every moment I can. I just had never danced in a crowded place before with someone else. Now that part was true.

Soon Etta James starts to feel the air.

Alison's spins on her heels and faces me. She gives me a curious look as she tilts her head slightly.

 _"Something told me it was over_

 _when I saw you and her talking."_

I smile as I take her hand in mine. "May I have this dance?" I ask in a horrible British accent as I bow and kiss the back of her hand gently.

Alison lets out a giggle before she clears her throat and taking on a serious expression. "You certainly may." She says in a flawless British accent, then giving a curtsy.

I take the hand and pull her closer to me. Her body molds into mine as we gently start to sway to the music.

 _"Ooo I would rather, I would rather go blind boy, than to see you, walking away from me child, and all...Ooo_

"I didn't know you were into Etta James." Alison says, her hands securely around my neck.

"Yeah. My dad loves this music. But apparently you're into her too if you know who this is." I say with a teasing smile, my hand wrapped tightly around her waist.

Alison blushes and tucks her head under my chin.

I can smell her vanilla scent. It's clouding my thoughts. I can feel the knot in my chest rising to my throat. I squeeze her hips and pull her closer to me.

I've never felt this feeling in the pit of my stomach before...well I have but it was for Beyoncé.

So I'm guessing this is attraction.

And it's strong.

When she pulls me closer I have to squeeze my eyes close.

I feel like a prepubescent teenage boy. And it's a good thing I'm not because something would have 'come up' if you get what I mean.

"Are you okay Em?" Alison asks looking up at me. "Your heart is beating like crazy." She says with concern.

"Uh..." I say pulling away from her. "That part of the song just really gets to me." I say with a nervous laugh.

Alison gives me a weird look but still smiles nonetheless. "Let's see what else you got?" She says walking over to the radio to change the song.

A Kesha song begins to play.

Alison smiles and nods her head along to the beat before dancing her way over to me along to the beat of the music.

"Hot and dangerous, if you're one of us then roll with us, cause we make the hipsters fall in love, when we put our hot pants on and up, and yes of course we does, we running this thing just like a club, and no you don't want to mess with us, got Jesus on my necklace." Alison raps.

I toss my head back howling in laughter at her.

She keeps singing as she takes my hand and spins me, both of us dancing to music.

And that's how we spend the rest of the day until I left for swim practice

~~~~X~~~~After swim practice~~~~X~~~~

I lift myself out of the pool, taking off my swim cap and goggles.

"Looks like I'm finally apart of the line up." Shana says to me before handing me a towel.

"Congratulations." I say sincerely accepting the towel from her hand.

She made second on the line up. She's now the third fastest on the team.

"Thank you." She says watching me wrap the towel around my waist. "So listen I've seen you around the school with Alison, I just wanted to tell you to be careful. Alison can be a real piece of work if you double cross her. She's real distant and cold hearted. She'd break you in an instance if you don't do what she says." Shana warns.

But that's not the same Alison I saw. The Alison that I hung out with this morning was very happy and open.

Maybe that's just a side she shows me.

"You mean like the Paige thing?" I ask.

Shana eyes widen. "You know about that? Did Alison tell you?" She asks in shock.

"Sydney did." I say looking over at the girl in mention.

"Oh." Shana says looking down. "Well don't say I didn't warn you." She says her voice turning cold.

Just then Alison walks over towards us. She's been sitting on the bleachers watching me swim.

"Hey Em." Alison says with a smile. when she turns to look at Shana her smile turns into a cold look. "Shana." She says curtly.

Shana just steps back, giving Alison a tight smile. "Hey Alison. Uh see you later..." Shana says taking off.

Alison doesn't say anything else to her. "You ready to go?" Alison asks placing a hand on my upper arm to get my attention.

"Uh yeah just let me grab my bag, I'll just shower at your house." I say moving to grab my bag.

~~~~X~~~~At Alison's House~~~~X~~~~

Ali was the first to enter her house. She takes a peak around before she opens it wide for me to come in.

"You can use my bathroom. It's upstairs." She takes my hand and leads me up the stairs towards her room. She shuts the door and leans against it, I see her let out a breath of relief before turning around to face me, then she freezes.

Was it something I did.

"Uh..." she clears her throat. "Sorry I just had a strong case of Deja Vu."

I lift my eyebrow at her. "Don't tell me you've dreamed about me being in your room before." I say teasingly.

It was meant as a joke...

But Alison seems to freeze at the statement.

I tilt my head curiously at her.

Has she dreamed about me in her room before?

I smile at her teasingly before moving around her room. I stop at the pile of clothes in the corner of her room. "Hey is this my jacket? The one I let you wear at the party?" I asks as I examine it in my hand. "Uh why is there a bite mark in the shoulder?" I asks curiously.

Geez it looks like she almost bit through it.

Alison clears her throat before walking over to her closet and pulling out a dry towel for me to use for my shower.

"Bathroom is down the hall to the left." She directs handing me the towel. "Don't take to long the gang's already on their way to the bowling alley.

I frown at her short response to me

before nodding my head. "Okay." I say softy, exiting her room to find the bathroom.

~~~~X~~~~Bowling Alley~~~~X~~~~

After the scene in her room about the jacket, Alison returned back to her playful self and we spent the car ride over her belting out tunes to the radio.

She has a lovely singing voice.

But when we entered the bowling alley, Alison turned into an entirely different person. She started acting cold and distant. The same thing Shana warned me about.

My guess is this is something that she does in front of them.

This is the person she is around them, not me.

And I've only became her BFF since yesterday.

But as far as the group goes, we've all been having a good time. Laughing and joking, Noel occasionally throwing out sexist comments. Even Jenna, who's supposed to have known me for a while has been flirting with me. Mona's the only one who's been quiet, just observing me. And it's like Alison's isn't here at all.

"Okay who bowls next?" Sarah asks as we watch her ball roll into the gutter.

Noel snickers and high fives Darren Wilden, senior quarterback on the football team. "That makes two gutters in a row, all we need is one pin and we win. You're up Jenna." He says with a head nod.

To make it clear for you, we're on teams. Loser pays for the games.

We're split into two. I'm on a team with Alison, Mona, Noel, Darren and Jena.

On the other team it's. Sydney, Sarah, Garrett, Shana, and Lorenzo.

Jenna steps up to bowl and her ball doesn't even touch the middle lane, it's like she rolled it in the gutter.

"What the fuck Jen, you couldn't even get one pin." Mona says with a huff.

Jenna just shrugs her shoulders uncaringly before coming to sit down next to me.

"Okay who's next?" Lorenzo announces. But the question goes unanswered as Noel and Mona turn to face me. "So Emily tell us about your self?" Mona asks

"Hmm. Lets see, I'm an only child, I'm captain of the swim team, I have a 3.8 GPA, my favorite colors blue like the ocean or gunmetal blue, and I like long walks on the beach..." I say staring off into the distance like I'm in some trance.

"We meant something interesting, like what's your secret on keeping your hair flawless, or if you're dating someone, and who is he? What's his sign?" Mona asks with a smirk.

"But wouldn't that be telling you about someone else and not my self." I ask curiously.

"Who you date does say a lot about you." Sarah says speaking up from across the table.

"Well I guess that sucks to be anyone dating Kim Kardashian." I mutter.

"Are you and Toby a thing?" Jenna asks. "I've seen you coming to and from the house and I never thought to ask...considering at the time you were very unimportant, but still." She says with a shrug. "You're pretty hot now and I'm sure if Toby wasn't interested in you that means you guys just aren't that into each other." She says then leans forwards. "Have you ever made out with a girl before...or would you consider making out with one?" She asks with a flirtatious smile.

I can see Alison tense up out the corner of my eye.

That's the first reaction she's given all night. Since we got here she's been quiet and observant.

"No." I say shaking my head at her "Toby is just my friend. And no I've never made out with a girl before." I clarify a smirk making it's way up to my lips as I give her a brief once over before tossing her a wink.

"So you're single?" Noel asks with a boyish smile.

"Sure." I answer.

"Good, because I feel it'd be wrong to show you a good time and you're taken." He says with a wink.

I think I just puked in my mouth.

"Uh..."

"So Emily is it true your dad is a marine?" Darren asks. I nod my head yes and he lets out a low whistle. "That's so bad ass."

Hmm I never thought of him being bad ass. Just me missing him.

Lorenzo gets up to bowl and knocks down all the pins but 3. "Yes! Bitches suck it!" He celebrates.

"Fuck off. We're only down by 6 pins, anyone with an arm can knock that down.

Alison your up." Noel says to Alison who just fans him off.

"No, I don't feel like it." She says fanning them off.

Like I said she's been quiet and standoffish.

"Come on, its the last frame we need this win or you're paying for bowling shoes pick one." Darren warns.

Alison just shrugs. "Good thing my parents have money."

"Fine. Emily bowl for Alison." Noel directs.

"Why me?" I asks with a frown.

"Because your the only girl over here with some balls." Noel says with a smirk.

Umm...

"I'm having a really heard time taking that as a compliment." I say with a frown.

"Oh it is. I loves me a ballsy woman." Noel says with a wink.

"Then maybe you're into the wrong type of girls. Maybe you should date a tranny." Mona says with a cruel smirk. Everyone around her starts laughing, including Alison.

I frown at her comment. That was rude.

Sarah looks over to see me frowning. "What's wrong Emily?" She asks genuinely concerned.

"Nothing." I say with a frown. "I just didn't find that funny."

"Oh lighten up...it was just a joke." Mona says fanning me off.

"Yeah to you...not to me." I say seriously.

Mona just rolls her eyes. "God Alison, I know you've been going soft on us but did you have to start hanging out with a nun?" She jokes again but this time only a few of them laughed, the rest looked nervous as they looked over to Alison.

Alison's face is blank. You cannot read not a thought that swims across her face.

"Lay off Mona." Alison says in an eerily calm voice.

The causes the entire group to hush up, including Mona, who rolls her eyes in defiance but doesn't respond to Alison's command.

"Okayyyy" Noel says breaking the tension. "Emily you still up to bowl Alison's turn?" Noel asks.

"Forget it, I'll do it." Jenna says. She takes the ball and walk to the pins. I watch her form as she prepares to release the ball. It's all wrong, so I quickly run over to her before she lets it go.

"Wait." I say stopping her. "Your gonna bowl a gutter and cost us the game." I say stepping behind her. "You have to get behind the ball like this." I say positioning her with my hands on her hips, I hear her breath hitch. I move my hand over hers to show her how to hold the ball. "You want to be forceful when you push the ball but not to forceful, to much will cause it to go off course." I gently nudge her hand and she releases the ball. It rolls straight now the middle knocking down all the pins.

Strike!

"Yes!" Jenna jumps up and down cheering then turns around and jumps in my arms. I can hear my entire team celebrating.

"Now you suck it Enzo!"

I do a quick spin with Jenna in my arms but as I turn I catch the look in Alison's eyes.

She looks pissed, frustrated, or jealous.

Did she want to win the game herself?

I set Jenna down and walk over to my group, receiving high fives and pats on the back from Noel and Darren.

Mona just shrugs but still gives me a small smile.

"We should celebrate." Darren calls out.

"On a school night? Don't be dumb." Alison says her voice taking on a strong tone.

Everyone freezes, except for Noel who laughs and pats him soundly on the shoulder. "Okay. We'll save this for the weekend. We'll throw a special party...just to welcome the new girl...if she lasts that long." He says teasingly as he walks over to me and wraps his arm around my waist. "And if you want to we can celebrate a little early...let's say tonight?" Noel asks, licking his lips for good measure.

This time I know I threw up in my mouth.

"Noel enough. We're leaving." Alison says grabbing my arm, pulling me away from him.

"Aww Alison don't ruin my fun." Noel says with a pout. Something I'm sure he considers adorable.

"I'm her ride home and I'm ready to go." Alison says in a tight tone.

"I can take her home." Noel says looking me up and down. "Or she can come

back to my house." He says holding his hand out for me to take.

I have to physically stop myself from rolling my eyes.

"Uh that's okay. I think I'll just leave with Alison...thanks for the offer though." I say giving him a forced smile.

Noel just shrugs. "Your lost. Maybe next time." He adds with a wink before he walks away to grab his stuff. "Mona you coming?" He asks giving her his charming boy smile.

Mona just rolls her eyes before grabbing her purse to follow him out.

I turn to look at Alison, giving her a small smile, but she doesn't return it. She keeps her expression blank before walking off.

Of course I follow her like a sad puppy.

When we get outside and away far away from the group, towards Alison's car.

She's speed walking and it's hard to keep up with her, I have to jog. "Hey Ali wait up." I say grabbing her arm, spinning her around to face me. "What's wrong?" I ask.

Alison crosses her arms. "Nothing." She says. And as she says this she refuses to make eye contact with me.

I grab her chin and force her to look at me, similar to what she did this morning. "Hey. Did I do something wrong?" I asks softly. I don't want her to be upset. Especially over something that I didn't know I was doing.

"It's nothing. I'm just being silly." She says giving me a forced smile. She looks away when I drop my hand from her chin.

"If I did something to make you upset than it's not silly." I say speaking softly as I look down to catch her eye. I move a piece of hair behind her ear. "If your worried about me liking your friends more than you, forget it. I'm only into you." I say with a smile. "They don't have enough bite to them." I tease.

She finally smiles at this. "Shut up." She says softly shoving my arm. "I just...I don't know. Being around them and being around you is so different. I feel free with you and with them I just feel...trapped." She says quietly.

I cup her face in my hands and lift her face towards mine. Alison brings her hands up to my jacket, gripping the ends. "I won't lie to you. Seeing this side of you Ali has really given me a new perspective. I love who you are with me. I don't want that to change, even when you're around other people. So if you have to walk away from this group I'm 100% behind you." I say.

Alison stares at me. Like seriously looks at me before she nods her head. "You'll still be my friend even if I'm not popular?" She asks curiously.

"I'll still be your friend if you had one tooth and they called you Billy Joe." I joke.

She laughs and pushes me away. "Come on I want to show you something." She says taking my hand and leading me towards her car.

~~~~X~~~~Alison's Cabinet~~~~X~~~~

Alison's cabinet is dark. We had to use flashlights to navigate us through the woods.

"Why are we here?" I ask as Alison leads us to the back of the cabin towards the deck area.

"Because I wanted to show you this." She says dropping my hand that she used to pull me through the woods, as she walks over and leans against the railing on the deck.

I look out on the lake. With it being dark out you can see the stars reflecting off of the lake.

And man are the stars beautiful tonight.

There's trees all around but they give of this impression of seclusion.

"This is beautiful Ali." I say in awe.

"You showed me your special spot now I wanted to show you mine." She says smiling at me.

I walk over and take her hand in mine, leaning against the railing too.

"You surprise me sometimes you know that?" I say giving her a smile.

"I'm a woman of many talents." Alison says giving me a shrug.

We fall into a comfortable silence as we stare out into the lake. "You know I come out here ever Sunday. It's like my way of going to church. I sit and I just talk to myself...or whatever woodland creature out their eavesdropping, and I just think. This is my one place in the world that I get to be myself...and now I just found another one." She says turning to look at me.

I frown in confusion as to what she's talking about before I read the look in her eyes.

She's talking about me.

Gosh, I would have never thought befriending her would have made her this happy.

But truthfully today has been an experience...and I hate to admit that I am happy being around her. More than I would have expected...and it sucks because now I don't want to do the bet anymore.

"Hey Ali...there's something that I need to tell you." I say, a quiver making its way into my voice.

Alison smiles at me, grabbing my other hand. "You can tell me anything." She says looking me in my eyes.

I freeze.

I can't do this. She'll kill me, or worse, all this progress would have been for nothing.

I watch her eyes drop from my eyes down to my lips.

Just then I see her start to lean in.

What the hell is she about to kiss me.

I swallow the lump in my throat.

"Ali..." I call out softly.

That seems to break her from her trance. "Uh..." she says stepping away from me. "I think we should go." She says walking away. I have to jog to catch up with her.

~~~X~~~~Wednesday at School~~~~X~~~

Alison's pissed at me.

After we left the cabin, we drove in silence all the way home. No radio, no words, just silence.

I didn't understand why she was so upset with me.

I don't even understand if she really tried to kiss me or not. All I know is she's pissed and ignoring me.

But weirdly enough being back at school was what I needed.

Everyone in the popular group was going out of their way to talk to me. Jenna and Sarah even took turns walking me to class. For different reasons of course. Sarah's a leach and just clings to whomever is on top at that moment and Jenna...well if I'm being honest I think Jenna wants to sleep with me.

But I'm not sure all she's done is grab my ass a few times.

I actually went to the school store to buy a rape whistle because of her.

I haven't talked to Hanna nor Spencer or Aria. They've been sort of...M.I.A. Hanna hasn't even returned my texts. I think she's mad at me.

I just don't know why.

Apparently I'm pissing off the entire school and I have no clue as to why.

I walk into the cafeteria and spot Lucas sitting by himself, but before I can walk over to him, I hear Noel call me over.

I give Lucas an apologetic smile and he just rolls his eyes at me.

Fuck. Another friend mad at me.

I walk over and sit with the gang. Actually I sit next to Alison but she refuses to acknowledge my presence.

Great.

"So Em, how does it feel sitting in the middle of attention right now?" Noel asks with a smirk.

I give him a forced smile. "It's okay I guess. I'm just not here to be popular." I say directing that comment to Mona and Alison. For some reason I felt the need to direct that to Mona more than anything.

"No matter. Your famous now." Mona says with a smirk.

"Being famous? This is just high school. No one's gonna care what happens after this." I say shaking my head at her.

Some people take this high school thing to far.

"That doesn't matter because right now you can do anything you want to. You're not labeled a loser." She says causing everyone to laugh. I frown at her words but she continues. "I mean look at that girl over there." Mona says pointing to Paige. "She's literally the biggest loser that I ever met. Pining after someone who doesn't want her." She says with a cruel smirk. "I guess that's what you get for being a dyke." She says with a cruel smirk.

Everyone starts laughing and I begin to get upset. "Her sexuality has nothing to do with why she's an outcast. She's an outcast because you made her that way." I defend.

"Careful Emily, we might start to think that you're a dyke too." Mona says her laughter picking up again.

When the table starts laughing.

Its like they're moving in slow motion and I'm watching them through horror.

It's making my head spin. I'm getting dizzy.

"Stop!" I yell slamming my hands on the table.

The entire lunch room including the popular table falls silence.

I look around at the eyes watching me. I take a deep breath and stand on the table.

"My name is Emily fields, and what many of you don't know is I'm not new here. I've been here since my freshman year, I even had classes with most of you since elementary. But you wouldn't know that because I was a nobody. I was invisible and none of you noticed me. And no I don't think I was those things, you all did. You all thought I was an outcast because they." I say pointing to the popular kids around me. "...thought I was. But I'm not. And neither are you. I am so sick and tired of people making me feel that way just because I'm different. And I know you guys are too. Just because we're not super model sized and rather pick up a book instead of a vogue magazine, or even gay..." I say making eye contact with Paige, who looks at me with shinny eyes. "...we get classed as these aliens. But I know I'm not an Alien...I feel normal as fuck." I say causing the teens to laugh. So for the rest of you who don't know who I am. Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Emily Fields...and I'm gay." I say.

Everyone gasps around me.

Silence radiating around the cafeteria until a brave soul beings to clap.

I look down to see Lucas being the lone teen clapped. Until everyone around the room joins in.

Soon I'm being applauded for my speech.

"Well at least I know why you we're immune to my charms." Noel says with a smile as he helps me down from the table. Even some of the popular kids are clapping. Except for Mona.

And when I look over to Alison she has a glare so fierce on her face that I actually fear for my life.

The next thing I know she fleeing the cafeteria.

And out of sight.


	10. Chapter 10

**Guys I am so sorry for not updating last Sunday. I am fine, time just slipped away from me. I promise I am not abandoning this story nor am I abandoning Yellow Paint. Expect an update from that soon as well. But thank you to those who reached out to me. I hope you enjoy this story please comment and tell me what you think. I think you'll enjoy the ending ;)**

 **Alison Dilaurentis Must Die:**

 **Episode 9: Kiss the Girls.**

 **Emily POV.**

I move through the cheerful crowd and make my way out the cafeteria. I spot Alison storming down the hall students moving out of her way as she makes her way past them. "Alison!" I call out as I spring over to her fast moving form. When she fails to stop I try again. "Ali." I say grabbing her arm and turning her to face me. "What's wrong? Are you mad at me?" I ask.

Though I'm already sure what's the problem.

She hates gay people.

And now she just got close to one, shared all her secrets. I'm sure she feels betrayed right now.

She shoves my hands off of her and steps back from my grip.

"Are you pissed at me?" I ask quietly.

"You're damn right I'm pissed!" She says angrily.

"Is it because I'm a lesbian?" I ask knowingly.

She frowns in confusion then rolls her eyes at me. "What-no...God Em, do you take me for some type of homophob? Because I'm not. I don't care that your gay I care that you used me to come out." She says. Her voice takes on a more sadder not.

Wait what?

She's not mad that I'm gay?

Isn't that the reason why she got Paige kicked off the team?

She hated that she was gay...I was sure of it.

But wait...what does she mean use her?

Now it's my turn to frown in confusion. "What do you mean use you?" I ask.

"You made yourself popular, so you can hang out with me. That way it would be easier for you to come out to the school." She says like it's obvious.

What? That's ridiculous.

I crack a smile before a giggle escapes me. Next thing I know I'm in a full blown laughter.

But Alison doesn't find it funny. She frowns at me. "Is this funny to you?" She asks.

I pull my laughter into control. "No ..." I say waving my hand at her. "It's just...I didn't use you Ali...I didn't care if I came out now or when I was a loser. I only did it now because of Mona. She wouldn't stop making those stupid homophobic comments and they were really getting to me. Paige was a good girl. She didn't deserve what happened to her." I say sincerely. "And what's the point of having some form of power if you don't use it for good." I argue.

Alison studies me for a moment. "So you didn't use me?" She asks softly.

Not for this...

"No." I answer honestly.

I watch a mixture of emotions flicker across her face. Finally one sticks. "Are you really gay?" She asks with a frown.

I let out a short laugh. "Yeah. Last time I checked." I joke before I turn serious. "I hope that doesn't change our friendship." I say reaching for her hand. I don't take it, I want her to feel comfortable enough to bridge the gap herself.

Which she does. She takes my hand and gives me a wonderful smile. "No, it doesn't. But next time could you please warn me before you decide to go all Braveheart on me." She jokes referring to my 'inspirational' speech.

I let out a laugh and pull her into a hug. "Yeah I promise." I whisper into her hair. I let out a sigh of relief. I'm glad I didn't ruin my chances with her.

I pull back and give her a smile. "So can we meet up after school. Watch a movie or something at my house?" I ask.

Alison lets out a shrug. "I'll have to check my schedule." She says teasingly.

I smile at her.

"Okay. Well I better get going. It might be good if I disappear for a while. I don't really want to deal with the awkward staring when everyone comes out for lunch." I say honestly before giving her another quick hug then taking off towards my class.

That...wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. When she originally fled the lunchroom I thought the worst. Like maybe I ruined my chances at a friendship with her...but she surprised me.

I'm kind of glad she did.

I look around the empty hallway and a dread already fills my stomach. When the bell rings everyone is going to be staring at me. I'll hear the whispers of the students and some will even be bold enough to come up and ask me if the rumors are true.

So my plan is to make it to my classroom and just hang out before the teacher gets there.

But that plan is squashed when I'm pulled into the bathroom by a hand.

"What the hell was that?!" The person says shoving me up against the bathroom wall.

Ouch...

I rub the back of my head and when my vision returns, I look up to see Spencer glaring at me.

"What was what?" I asks, even though I know exactly what she's talking about.

"You coming out?! That so was not apart of the plan!" Spencer yells at me.

I do everything in my power not to roll my eyes.

Can you say over dramatic.

"Yeah Emily... since when are you 'gay'l" Aria says. She's not as angry as Spencer but I can see the disappointment resting on her face. "You do realize you pretending to be this way is offending a lot of people, why couldn't you have said something else...you could have literally said you have a stuttering problem anything to make you an outsider."

I let out a sigh and rest my head against the brick. I look to Hanna for help but she's just quiet. I guess she won't be any help.

"I'm not pretending to be anything." I say tiredly.

"What?" Aria asks shocked. Spencer just stares at me curiously waiting for me to continue.

"I'm a lesbian. I just never told anyone...not even Toby knows." I confess.

Both girls stare at me in shock before turning to face Hanna.

Hanna gives them a nod. "It's true." She admits.

Finally she speaks. Just not to me. She still hasn't even made eye contact with me, she's been avoiding me since yesterday. Every since me and Alison talked that morning outside in the courtyard she hasn't talked to me.

"You knew?!" Spencer all but yells.

Hanna lets out a deep breath. "Yeah, I knew." She admits.

"And you didn't tell us?!" Spencer accuses clearly offended.

"Of course I didn't tell you. It wasn't my secret to tell." Hanna says giving Spencer an incredulous look.

Spencer lets out a sigh but doesn't say anything. I'm guessing she understands the bit about keeping secrets. "Okay, but did you have to come out like that?" She asks scoldingly.

"Yes, I did. You have to trust me...I didn't put this operation in jeopardy." I say in a desperate whine.

Spencer lets out a frustrated grunt before she starts pacing the bathroom floor. "Okay. You're right the world isn't over, BUT..." she emphasizes by stopping in front of me. "You have to own this. You can't be a bumbling fool, or nervous about your sexuality, you need to make this the sexiest thing out...you need to make everyone want to be you, or at least want to sleep with you. That's the only way this plan won't fall through." She says looking me square in the eyes. "Do you understand?" She asks strongly.

I swallow the lump in my throats as I nod my head. But I can't help but wonder...how the hell am I going to pull that off. I don't know the first thing about being sexy and if you don't remember I've never been out before. How the hell am I going to convince people to want to sleep with me?! Maybe I jumped the gun on this whole coming out thing.

But my nod seemed to placate her because she sighs then steps back away from me.

"Okay." She mutters before turning to give Hanna an indescribable look. "We should get out of here before the bell rings." She looks at Aria and aria takes her cue to leave.

Following Spencer to the bedroom door, she turns around and gives me a small smile. "Good luck." She adds a wink for good measure before she takes off after Spencer.

Now there's just me and Hanna left.

"Are you okay?" Hanna asks softly, but still not meeting my eyes.

"Yeah, thanks." I say with a pause before thanking her for something else. "And thank you for keeping my secret. That really means a lot to me that you did." I say in hopes to coerce a smile out of her.

It doesn't work.

She just gives me a head nod before moving towards the door. "No problem. I know you would have done it for me!" She says flippantly.

What the hell did I do to her?

"Hanna wait!" I all but scream to get her to stop leaving.

She pauses with her hand by the door, but she doesn't move to turn around to face me.

But she doesn't leave...that's better than nothing.

"What did I do to you? I'm sorry for whatever I did..." I whine slightly. I hate that I don't know why she's mad at me, or how I can fix this situation.

Hanna lets out a sigh before shaking her head at me. "You didn't do anything...it's me." She says. "I'm not-" she tries to get out. "Im not mad at you, I'm mad at Alison." Hanna says moving back over towards me.

I frown in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Hanna's sigh turns into a frustrated grunt. "Just seeing you with her reminded me of when she and I used to hang out. How close we were, how care free we were, she wasn't embarrassed about being seen with me. She was honored if anything." She says with a shrug. "And I saw that...the old Alison again, when she was sitting with you under that tree, and I guess it made me...I don't know jealous." She says looking down at her shoes.

I nod my head in understanding before giving her a small smile. "You don't have anything to be jealous of. You and Alison were friends since diapers, that's something I can never replace. And besides, what me and Alison have doesn't even feel like a friendship...it feels like..." I frown in confusion.

I actually don't know what it feels like.

I just know I've never felt this way towards Toby before and he's my closest friend. It's not just contempt, it's more than that.

It's like I want to be around her all the time, and not just hang out with her. But like take her out and show her new things, things her other 'friends' never did.

Sort of like date...

Wait, no! That's not a thought that just crossed my mind.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts. When I look up Hanna is staring at me. I can still see the jealousy in her eyes but it's also clouded with envy.

I feel bad. I know she misses her friend. But she's the one who roped me into this. I'm just doing what she told me to do.

"Look if you need me to back off then I will." I say even though I don't want to.

Hanna shakes her head. "No your fine. I just have to get over my own insecurities. You just need to focus on how you're going to make the entire school into lesbian lovers." She says with a slight smile.

That's better.

I smile back before leaning in to give her a hug. "Thanks Han." I say softly.

She reciprocates the hug briefly. "Okay." Hanna says pulling back from me. "I better get out of here. See ya." She says leaving the bathroom.

I take a deep breath before turning to face the mirror.

Im trying to think of the list of things I should start doing to help keep my new found popularity in tact.

But the only thing that keeps popping in my head is helping Paige.

And I know just how to do it...

~X~X~X~X~Swim Practice~X~X~X~X~

I'm late for swim practice again...but this time it's on purpose.

I hid in the showers as the girls got dressed and I waited to come out until they left.

During class I wrote a resignation letter to coach Fulton and the rest of the girls, stating that I was leaving the team.

But don't worry I don't plan on actually quitting. But hopefully by the end of it Paige will be allowed to get back on the team.

So why did I hide you ask in the showers you ask?

Well the only way to be taken serious is to enter the room with a dramatic flair.

Just like I plan on doing now...

"You're late." Coach Fulton says as I enter the pool area. She never looks up from her clipboard and the girls are all around the pool edge stretching and warming up.

I don't respond. Instead I walk right over to her and hand her my resignation letter.

Coach Fulton takes it hesitantly and starts reading it over. I follow her eyes as they move along the words on the page. When she gets to the bottom her eyes snap back up to me.

She looks mad, scared, panicked.

Good. All the things I was going for.

"Is this some type of joke?!" Coach Fulton asks facing me. "Are you seriously quitting three days before one of our biggest meets."

This attracts the attention of the girls. They all begin to gather around me and Coach Fulton, attempting to see what the big deal was.

I muster up the saddest look I can. "I have to coach. On this team I'm supposed to be a leader, so I follow the wants of the girls. I know how they feel about homosexuals being on this team...they got a fellow team member kicked off because she was gay. If I'm going to advocate for fairness I have to start with this. I can't be a leader if I don't lead by example." I say, looking coach in the eye, ignoring the growing crowd.

Coach Fulton frowns at me and shakes her head not understanding my decision.

"Did I just hear this right? Did Fields say she was quitting the team?" I hear Shanna asks as she emerges from the crowd.

"Yeah!" A nameless girl on the team turns and answers. "So what the hell Fields! We're up against Central next. You blow their anchor out of the water, you want us to just forfeit or something?!" She asks.

And as expected the girls begin to rally against me in agreement with her.

"No I don't want you to forfeit. Honestly I want to win. I want to kick Centrals ass! But I can't swim with a bunch of homophobes, it seriously goes against everything I stand for!"

"Since when are you a lesbian advocator?" Another nameless girl ask.

I give her a slight smirk. "Since I am one."

That seemed to silence the crowd.

I shrug while turning to face the girls. "You guys all rallied together and got a fellow member kicked off the team, just because you heard she liked girls, and never once did you confirm if this was true or not." I say looking Sydney square in the eyes, I watch as she shamefully slinks back behind the crowd and out of sight. "In through all this you guys never once stopped to ask how this might affect her. You pass her in the hall without a second glance and never once ask yourselves is she okay?...so this is it. I'm putting my foot down. If you guys didn't want to swim with Paige because she's gay, then you don't want to swim with me either." I say with another shrug. "It's as simple as that."

"All this because we didn't want to swim with Paige? Why don't you just give it a rest Fields and stop being so dramatic." The first nameless girl says with an eye-roll.

I glare at her. "It's called having a backbone. You know that thing you swim without." I say, a lot of the girls snickers at her and she slinks back like a wounded puppy.

Just because I don't know her name, doesn't mean I don't know her stats. She's not that great trust me.

Silence falls over the pool space as the girls look around at each other.

"Well I liked Paige, and I like swimming with you. I don't see why we can't have both of you on the team." Shanna finally speaks up again giving a casual one armed shrug. "Besides with Paige back we might have an even stronger chance at Nationals."

The girls seem to agree as they nod their heads.

"I'll swim with you." Shanna adds. But she's just not talking about me, she's talking about Paige as well.

And soon theirs a chorus of girls starts pledging their will to swim with me.

Coach Fulton attempts to hide her smile as she blows her whistle to silence us. "So it's settled Paige is back on the team." She says and a chorus of cheers rang out. She looks to me. "I'll let you be the one to tell her." She adds a wink for good measure. Okay ladies I think we had enough emotional time to last all day. So hit the showers we'll pick up practice tomorrow." Fulton announces before she blows her whistle dismissing us.

The girls cheer again and head to the locker room.

Fulton stops me from leaving by placing a firm hand on my back. "That's a good thing you did for Paige." She says with a smile.

"I had to coach. It was my captain duty." I say teasingly.

Fulton laughs and nods her head. But then she turns serious all of sudden. "You weren't really going to quit were you?" She asks.

My eyes widen in exasperation. "Are you kidding me and miss a chance a kicking Centrals ass? No way!" I say honestly.

Fulton just laughs again as she shakes her head at me, heading back to the locker room.

I wait until she leaves before falling backwards into the pool happily.

~x~X~x~After Practice~x~X~x-

I knock on her door waiting for someone to answer.

I half expect her parents to until she emerges with a confused face.

"Coach said she wants you back at Practice first thing tomorrow." I say handing her, her old uniform and accessories that go with it.

Paige hesitates to take them as she looks at me in confusion. "Are you serious?" She asks.

"Yup." I say dramatically popping the 'p' at the end of the word.

Paige smiles down at her uniform before launching herself at me, pulling me into a hug.

I laugh and reciprocate the hug back before pulling away.

"Thank you!" Paige says happily.

"You're welcome. Well I better get going..." I say walking down from her porch. "See you tomorrow." I say turning to leave.

"Hey!" Paige says catching my attention again. When I turn to face her, she's no longer looking at me. Just playing with her fingers nervously. "I saw what you did today in the cafeteria. I thought it was really cool the way you stood up to those popular kids. I think for the first time in my life I felt normal, when I was watching you speak." She says softly.

I give her a small smile. "Us losers have to stick together right." I say giving her another wave before I take off down the sidewalk.

I don't even have to glance back to know she's watching me.

~x~X~x~ 30minutes later ~X~x~X~

I finally enter the block where I live.

Remind me again to never walk home from Paige's house. Who knew she lived so far away?

As I walk up to my house I see an unfamiliar car sitting in the drive way. But then I look to my house to find the familiar person it belongs to.

"Maya?" I ask with a frown.

"Hey Emily" Maya says standing up to greet me. She pulls me into a small hug which I reciprocate quickly. She pulls back giving me a small smile.

"Uh not that I'm not happy to see you or anything...but what are you doing here?" I asks.

Her smile falls. It turns into something forced. She turns and walks over to my porch stairs and sits down, I walk over nervously and join her.

"Andrew told me about what happened at the party." Maya admits.

I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out so I just gap like a fish. "How..." I start to ask but I can't seem to force out the question in my head.

"I woke up, locked in my bedroom, with no recollection on how I got there." Maya says giving me a look that sums up how crazy that was. "I throw a party every other weekend, I know my alcohol tolerance. I also know that you helped get me to my room..." she trails off before looking me square in the eye. "What happened?" She asks.

"I..." I let out a sigh of frustration. I don't know whether or not to tell her who drugged her. Without any proof it's my word versus his. "I found you stumbling around the party, you were slurring your words and overheating. I thought you were drugged but Andrew said he thought it was night medicine mixed with the alcohol that caused your loopy state. He helped me carry you to your bedroom. I made sure you were safe before I left." I explain.

Maya seems to absorb this information as she nods her head. "Okay.." is all she says.

"When did Andrew tell you?" I ask.

"I ran into him at the Brew. He kept asking me was I alright. At first I didn't know what he was talking about, but then after some further questioning he finally spilled about helping me at the party. Said that you told him I was a friend of yours and that something bad was happening. He didn't know what happened either though." Maya says.

I nod my head.

"Well, I guess I should say thanks." Maya turns to face me. "But I rather just thank you by buying you dinner...say this Thursday night?" She asks with a small smile.

"Uh...you mean like a date?" I nearly stutter out.

Maya giggles at my dorky response before she stands. "I'll meet you at 8. Where something nice but casual. I'm taking you to my favorite pizzeria. I heard you have a thing for pizza..." She says with smirk before walking to her car and pulling off.

When she leaves I'm left to stare at her burning trail of tires.

Did I seriously just get asked on my first date?

My first real date?

I let out a small sigh as I walk back up the porch and towards the house. When I enter I can smell the dish that my mom is preparing in the kitchen. And when I listen closely I can hear laughter coming from it. But she's not alone.

I slowly move into the kitchen and when I enter what I see surprises me.

"You're home late." My mom says.

But I'm not looking at her. I'm staring at the imposter standing in my kitchen.

I wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes but I am...

And I feel like I just stepped into an episode of twilight zone.

Alison Dilaurentis is standing in my kitchen cooking with my mom.

Alison gives me a smirk when she sees my reaction to her being in my kitchen. With an apron on for that matter.

"I had to stop by Paige's house on the way home." I rush out not even bothering to look at my mom.

My eyes are still glued to Alison. I watch as her eyes flash when I mention Paige's name but she quickly looks away from me.

"Well now that you're here you can help prepare dinner. Please set the table." My mom instructs. Unaware of the intense eye contact that's going on between me and Alison.

"Sure thing." I mutter as I walk over to the cabinets.

I tilt my head to Alison giving her a questioning look but she just smirks in response before looking away.

"So Alison was just telling me how she beat you in a swimming contest." My mom says with a teasing smirk on her face.

I shoot Alison a playful glare and she bites her bottom lip to stifle her laugh.

"Oh yeah? Did she tell you that she cheated." I say directly in Alison's ear as I move around her to set a plate down.

I hear my mom let out a gasp in surprise. "Oh Emily you shouldn't make up stories just because you lost." She teases.

My mouth gaps open at my mom and Alison tosses her head back in laughter.

I gently shove her shoulder without my mom seeing me but that doesn't make her to drop the shit eating grin on her face.

"Yeah Emily, I won fair and square. It's okay to admit it...it'll be our little secret." She whispers the last part in my ear.

I can't help the shiver that runs down my spine.

I take a deep breath before setting the last plate down. "Okay mom, tables set." I say still staring at Alison.

"And I'm all finished mixing the sauce." Alison announces next.

"Oh good. I'll finish up in here and you girls can head up stairs. I'll let you know when dinners ready." My mom says giving Alison pat on the back, and me a swat on the tush with her cleaning towel.

"Hey!" I say rubbing the offended area.

Alison and my mom laughs and I roll my eyes at them.

I grab Alison's hand and she quickly sets down the bowl of sauce before following me. "We'll be in my room if you need us." I say pulling Alison to my bedroom.

Once we get upstairs, Alison bursts into a fit of laughter and flops down on my bed.

I send her a mock glare before running over to her, flopping down on her legs, straddling them. I grab one of my pillows and begin hitting her repeatedly with it.

Alison laughs and tries to fight me off but with me being on top of her I happened to have the advantage.

"Okay I'm sorry!" Alison says in a fit of giggles.

"I don't believe you." I say forgoing the pillow to start tickling her sides.

Alison howls out in laughter and starts bucking against me. She's gaining her strength and I quickly find myself on my back, Alison placed between my legs, pinning my arms above my head. "I said I was sorry." She breathes out heavily, still catching her breath.

I swallow the lump in my throat at the close proximity of her.

I don't think she realizes the affect she's having on me because she still staring at me, waiting on me to respond.

But I can't.

I really can't. The only thing that I can think of is the placement of her hips.

It's distracting. And I can feel an unfamiliar burn in my stomach.

I don't understand what's happening and it's freaking me out.

"I have a date Thursday night." I announce abruptly.

I mentally slap my forehead.

Why the fuck did I just say that?

God. I'm a different kind of idiot!

The smile on Alison's face drops and she frowns in confusion. "What?" She stammers out confused. She lifts off of me, putting space between us.

I think I've upset her.

"I uh..." I stammer, lifting up and leaning back on my elbows. "I have a date...Maya, she asked me out today and I told her yes." I say swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Oh...I see." Alison says softly. She lets out a deep breath before falling to lay down on the side of me. "I didn't know you guys were that close." She mutters.

"We weren't." I say. "But we've had encounters before. She expressed interest when she showed up here to ask me out." I explain.

"She was here?" Alison asks. I nod my head. "While I was in your kitchen?" She asks and I nod again.

Her jaw clenches for a moment before she lets out a deep breath.

"Well I guess we both have plans this Thursday night." Alison announces. "Mona set me up on a date with some guy name Cole. She thinks he'd be a good date for homecoming." She says staring up at the ceiling.

This time it's my turn to clench my jaw.

A part of me wants to think she's only saying this because I said I had a date on Thursday. But the other part of me knows shes not making this up. She just wasn't going to tell me.

For some reason that hurt.

"Oh..." I say after a beat. "Good." I mutter.

I don't really think it's a good thing. I just thought I should say that to her so she doesn't know how angry I am at her for keeping that from me.

"Maybe we could meet up afterwards... compare notes or something." I say not really wanting to.

It just seemed like the right thing to say.

Alison's quiet for a moment before she nods her head. "But I have a better idea." She says lifting up on her elbow and staring down at me. "How about we go on a double date." She says excitedly.

I gap at her in surprise. She actually wants to go on a double date with me?

That's absurd!

But you know what...this could be a good thing. I can monitor her little date to make sure that he doesn't get to out of hand.

"Okay." I agree. "Lets do it." I say with a smile.

She smirks. "Great. Then it's settled. We'll go on the date together!"

We both give each other another smile before turning to stare up at my ceiling. Not uttering another word until my mom calls us down for dinner.

Good. Now I get to watch Alison go on a date.

Shit...what the hell did I just do?

~x~X~x~Later that Night~x~X~x~

"What the hell did you just do?!" Hanna yells as she storms into my room.

"You know normally I'd disagree with Hanna's choice of words but I think I'd make an exception this time." Spencer says following in behind Hanna.

I put my face in my hands. "I don't know what I was thinking...she caught me off guard!" I say in an attempt at defending myself.

"You couldn't have come up with a reason to NOT go on the double date?!" Hanna yells.

"Okay ladies, lets not all jump down Emily's throat. I'm sure she's been beating herself up enough about it. And besides, it's not all bad. It could have been worse..." Aria says coming to my defense.

Good ole Aria to the rescue.

"Like how...?!" Hanna retorts. "And besides we said become desirable not just start dating any ole body." She says referring to Maya.

I give her a warning look and she rolls her eyes silently backing down from the subject at hand.

We agreed that I could become friends with Maya...I guess she never said anything about me dating her.

"But still you shouldn't be dating anyone. You're eye candy not some godamn lollipop! Not everyone needs to get a lick off of you."

"Gosh Hanna that was just disgusting." Spencer says with an eye roll. "But she's right, in a sense...you need to remain single until you establish a base with you coming out." She reasons.

"I know." I say in a whiny voice flopping backwards on my bed.

"Guys!" Aria warns again. She walks over and sits next to me. "It's okay Emily. You're allowed to have a social life outside of this plan." She says sympathetically, while grabbing my hand and giving it a light squeeze.

Hanna just groans dramatically before flopping down on my window seal. Spencer walks over and stares out my window for a moment before turning to face me again.

"Okay. We can make this work in our favor." Spencer announces. I can see the gears turning in her head from where I'm sitting on the bed. "Maya goes to Rosewood Academy, so if word gets out about you there, you'll really become a trophy to have." She begins to pace. "You need to woo Maya, make her really like you, but it can only be one date. Any girl you go out with can only be for one date. You need to become something like a womanizer... make every girl want to go on a date with or at least think they have a chance." She says stopping in front of me. "That's the only way to make this work."

I look at her like she left her bag open and all of her marbles rolled out.

"Are you kidding me?!" I asks. "I can't be a womanizer, I just started acting like a woman myself! I don't know how to date one...let alone multiple ones." I say exasperatedly.

She's insane.

"Don't worry. We'll help you with the start of it...and I know just how to do it." Spencer says with a creepy smile on her face.

I hear Hanna let out a scoff. "What do you plan on doing? Planting a camera on her..." she says sarcastically.

"Yes Hanna that's exactly what I plan on doing." Spencer says that same smile still intact on her face.

We all gap at her.

"You're kidding right?" Aria asks.

"Nope...I also plan on bugging your ear, you know to help you know what to say." Spencer says as she starts pacing again. "Though with Alison being on the date it might serve as an issue." She says rubbing her chin in thought. "But no worries, I'll figure it out and we'll meet tomorrow before your date." She says giving me a look before fleeing out the door.

Well fuck...

~x~X~x~Thursday-Date night~x~X~x~

It's now 7:50 and I'm sitting outside the pizzeria that I'm supposed to meet Maya in.

Currently it's just me and Spencer sitting in the front seats of the vehicle. Aria and Hanna went inside to find a seat where they can keep from being seen from us during the date.

Spencer already connected the speaker and camera to my shirt.

It feels weird having this thing in my ear.

"Would you stop fiddling with that." Spencer says slapping my head away from playing with the camera on my shirt.

I whine and sulk in my seat. "I have no clue as to what I'm doing. I can't do this." I say.

Spencer just rolls her eyes at me, refusing to give me a response.

"Like what do I even do? I can't be a womanizer...I've never even pleasured one girl how the hell am I supposed to make my way around the city." I say with a pout.

"You don't have to take it that far. Just a simple kiss would be enough." Spencer says, as she continues to fiddle with that stupid device in her hand.

A Kiss? Right...just a simple kiss.

Only problem is, I don't know how to do that.

I've never kissed anyone before in my life! And she expects me to just kiss her like its nothing. And give a good kiss at that.

I'm screwed.

"Uh...y-yeah...sure." I stutter out.

This causes Spencer to look up at me with a curious eye. She stares at me for a moment before her eyes widen in realization. "You've never kissed anyone before have you?" She asks and I just put my head down in shame. "Oh...okay well...wow I've never met anyone who hasn't kissed anyone before." She says setting her device down. "Uh okay. Well...its just...wow...really? You've never kissed anyone?" She asks.

I let out a deep breath. "No. The opportunity never presented itself." I say with an eye roll.

"Okay...well it's simple...its all about timing and positioning of your lips. It should be softly done at first, then as time progress become a little more firmly, and passionate." Spencer explains. But all that just went over my head. I think Spencer realized this when she let out a sigh. "I'm going to have to show you aren't I?" She states as she unbuckles her seatbelt, and leans over the armrest, closer towards me.

"Wait...what-" I start but stop just as quickly as Spencer places her hand on the back of my neck pulling me closer. "Just follow my lead." She says before softly leaning into me, giving me a soft peck on the lips. I freeze momentarily, my brain going into overtime. What the hell is she doing? Spencer senses this and pulls back from the kiss. "Em...relax...just do what feels natural." She says.

Relax...okay...got it.

I take a deep breath and give a slight nod indicating that I'm ready. We both lean back in at the same time...our lips meeting in a soft embrace.

And that's exactly how it starts off, really soft, but as time goes on it becomes a little more intense and soon we become a little more aggressive.

Spencer was right about the timing. It was everything. When she went up I had to go down, when she went left I had to go right. It was actually hard to keep track of, but the longer we went the more relaxed I got, and I started to just do what felt natural, and soon we were in a full blown make-out.

Spencer's' grip on my hair tightens slightly and she moves closer to me, accidentally or purposefully placing her hand on top of my thigh. The action sent a small tingle down my spine causing me to accidentally bite down on her bottom lip, and Spencer lets out a low groan.

I quickly pull back, my eyes widening in fear. "I'm so sorry." I start but Spencer doesn't seemed moved by my apology because she's already leaning back in.

"No it's okay...do it again." She rushes out before she captures my lips again in a heated kiss.

My eyes widen at her statement.

Do it again?

People actually like it when you bite them. What type of kinky stuff goes on during these make-out sessions?

I guess that's what the kids are doing these days. No more pecks on the cheek like I see in those old fashion black and white movies.

I close my eyes and continue to participate in the kiss just as intensely as Spencer is currently doing.

And If I wasn't crazy, I'd think Spencer is enjoying this kiss (that was just supposed to be strictly for practice) way to much. It seems to be turning into more.

Why do I say that?

Well Spencer has now climbed over the arm rest and straddles my lap. Her hands grip my face and she squeezes it, causing me to lean forward a bit.

During which, I accidentally touch her bottom lip with my tongue. And before I could retract it Spencer has opened her mouth and her tongue now invades my mouth. We continue to slide our tongues against each other's, and even though this is supposed to be erotic, I'm starting to feel a little weary.

Not that I'm complaining she's an incredible kisser. It's just a little weird to be kissing her. One moment she's this uptight brainiac, next she's letting her hair down and shoving her tongue down my throat.

Again not that I'm complaining.

Spencer moves closer to me, and I place my hands on her hips, giving them a light squeeze. Spencer moans. And I think we should probably stop before this goes a little to far. Much further than it already is.

"Uh what the hell are you guys doing?" I hear an appalled Aria say as she pulls the door to the driver side open.

Spencer and I quickly spring apart from each other. Both of us quickly trying to regain our breathing.

I'm sure if Spencer is blushing pink, my face must resembles a tomato.

Aria just stares at us expecting an answer, and to be honest I can't provide her with one.

Spencer just clears and climbs off of me. "Uh sorry. We were just...practicing." She mutters lamely.

Aria just raises an eyebrow in disbelief, looking at me for clarification and I just give her a shrug in response, not really knowing what else to say.

"Really? Practicing?" Aria asks in disbelief. And Spencer just nods her head yes. Aria continues to stare at us before she finally backs down with a nod. "Okay. Whatever you say. Come on Hanna got us a table." She says walking away from the car.

Well...that was awkward.

I'm guessing for Spencer too because both of us just sit in silence for a moment, neither knowing what to say.

Then I hear Spencer let out a deep sigh, drawing my attention to her. She runs her hand through her hair as she stares down at her lap, refusing to make eye-contact.

I open my mouth to break the silence but she beats me to it. "Sorry about that...I got kind of carried away." She says finally looking up at me. "It's just that your a really good kisser...for someone who's never done it before." She says with a teasing smile.

And even though the words are supposed to calm me, they do the exact opposite.

My first kiss...that was my first kiss.

Shit. Does this mean that I just waisted my first kiss on Spencer.

Not that there's something wrong with Spencer...its just that I've always imagined my first kiss being with someone I truly love, like something out of a fairy tale.

Well I guess that's the end of that dream.

Just then Spencer reaches her hand across the armrest, placing it over mines. "This kiss doesn't count Em. It was just for practice remember." She finishes by giving my hand a slight squeeze.

Now those words give me some relief.

Spencer then gets out of the car, heading inside the restaurant and I quickly follow behind.

But right before we get there she stops and turns to face me.

"By the way Em, you so never needed practicing." Spencer says, causing my entire face to heat up again.

"Uh thanks." I mutter lamely as we enter the building.

I spot Maya sitting in the corner of the restaurant. She's looking down at her phone so she hasn't noticed me yet.

Good.

I let out a sigh before feeling a comforting hand on back. I turn to see Spencer give me one last look of encouragement before she flees the over to where Hanna and Aria is hiding.

I take another deep breath before I make my way over to Maya, sitting down in front of her.

She finally looks up and notices me, but her smile wavers as she looks behind me

with a frown.

Shit I hope she didn't make Hanna and the gang.

I glance behind me and spot the source of her confusion, Alison and her date Cole is making their way over towards us.

"Hey guys." Alison says cheerfully.

She's way to excited about this date.

It's making me nervous.

"Uhh...hey Alison." Maya says in confusion before looking over to me answers.

"Uh Maya...I hope you don't mind, but I invited Alison and her date Cody with us?" I ask with a head tilt.

"It's Cole." He corrects.

But I ignore him, because honestly I can careless what his name is. I'm to busy staring at Maya who's doing her best not to glare at me.

I can see she's upset but I give her my most charming smile to help smooth it over.

I can see Maya deflate from anger and she forces a smile, nodding her head in agreement. "Sure I don't mind." She says through slightly clenched teeth. At least she's making an effort to hide her anger.

Alison takes that as an infatuation to slide into the booth next to me, and Cole slides in across from her next to Maya.

We all stare awkwardly at each other.

" _Compliment Maya's shirt_." I hear a voice in my ear. For a second I thought that it was Alison but she's to busy staring down at her phone.

Then I remembered the three young lovely ladies currently spying on my date from across the restaurant.

"Uh...so Maya, you look gorgeous. I absolutely love that top." I compliment.

I feel Alison tense at the comment out the corner of my eye.

Maya seems to like that comment because she forms a shit eating grin on her face. "Thank you...you look gorgeous yourself."

I smile at her words and try my hardest not to look down as I blush.

Alison clears her throat loudly interrupting whatever staring contest Maya was having with me.

"So Maya what made you ask Emily out?" She asks gaining everyone's attention.

When we all give her a wide-eyed look she just shrugs. "Well I have to do the best friend thing and interrogate her...right?" Alison says leaning into me playfully.

I smile at her and give her a light shrug.

"Well...I thought Emily was super cute. But she was a little tough to gage. I had no idea if she was into girls or not. But I kept a spy at Rosewood High to be on the look-out for me...just in case." Maya responds, giving me a wink.

She had someone spy on me...?

She wanted to date me that bad?

 _"That's so romantic."_ I hear Aria say into the ear peace. _"You should take her hand."_

I blush at her comment and reach across the table to take her hand. "Aww Maya that's so sweet-"

"Creepy..." Alison cuts me off with.

I shoot her a surprised look and she shakes her head painting on a big fake smile. "I meant it's cute that she stalked you and all...I was talking about how creepy it is that they don't dust this place for cobwebs. See disgusting." She says pointing to the small webs in the corner of the ceiling before letting out an obviously fake shiver.

"Aww Alison, are you afraid of spiders? I'll protect you." Cole says giving her a flirtatious smile.

Alison smiles back and we drop the subject.

"What about you two? How long have you been into Alison, Cole?" Maya asks.

"Well. I saw her at a Hollis football game not to long ago, she was looking so hot standing in those bleachers. But at the time she was dating Holbrook...when they broke up I asked her friend Mona...who's dating my friends little brother Wren...to hook us up." Cole says casually.

What a fucking pig.

Clearly Alison is much more beautiful than her. If I was him I'd be giving my full undivided attention to Alison.

He should even be lucky that he's even out with Alison.

I try my hardest not to give him a disgusted glare.

Maya shrugs. "I guess we both had a little help from the outside.." she says after silence falls over the group, after his pig headed statement.

"No I think yours was definitely more thought out as oppose to being elementary school." I mutter under my breath.

Alison shoots me a look, just as the waitress arrives.

She's a tall redhead with gorgeous green eyes. Her name tag reads Anna.

"What can I get for you guys?" She asks with a bright smile. The question was directed at all of us but she turns to look at Cole first.

And just like the pig he is, he licks his lips as he looks her up and down appraisingly. "Well..." he draws out. "I'll take a number four, with extra bacon, ham, and pepperoni."

"Is that order for the entire table? That's one of the biggest pizzas on our menu." The waitress Anna asks.

"Nope. That's all me sweetheart." Cole says with a wink. "Oh and a Diet Coke. I'm watching my figure." He says patting his stomach.

The waitress gives him a strained smile as he continues to check her out.

Alison doesn't seem to be bothered by this. Her date is literally undressing the waitress with his eyes and Alison isn't even baring an eyelash. And Anna the waitresses attention is now on her.

"I'll just take the house salad and a water, thank you." Alison says politely, handing the waitress her menu.

"And for you?" Anna the waitress asks Maya.

"Hmm...I'll take a number two, but a half order, and no bacon. And I'll take an ice tea." Maya orders.

The waitress jots down the information before turning to face me. She looks at me, then down at her pad, then quickly back up at me. Her face blushes a deep red.

I frown in confusion.

 _"Holy hell Emily I think the waitress has the hots for you!"_ I hear Hanna exclaim in my ear.

My eyes widen. "Seriously?!" I whisper out loud.

Everyone turns their eyes on me.

"Uh..." I start with a nervous look. "Seriously you guys don't have Brooklyn style pizza...?" I cover up.

Everyone looks away from me after that.

 _"Good cover up."_ Hanna mutters

I want to roll my eyes at her but I stop myself.

"I'm sorry that's not one of our specialty's for the day...but I'm sure for the right price I can get the chef to make something special for you." Anna the waitress says with a flirtatious smile.

" _Emily she's totally flirting with you. Use that to your advantage_." I hear Spencer say. " _Flirt back, it'll make you look more desirable Maya_."

"What's the right price?" I ask with a smirk.

Maya gives at me an incredulous look. While Alison frowns at me, her eyes narrowing into questioning slits. And Cole stares at me with envy.

The girls better have a good idea on how to get me out of this situation.

"How about I think of something and let you know?" She says flirtatiously putting her pencil eraser in her mouth and biting softly on the end.

" _Dismiss her._ " Spencer instructs.

"Sure." I say casually, taking out my phone and looking down, ignoring her presence altogether.

I can see her frown out the corner of my eye before she walks away.

I can feel their eyes on me as I scroll down my social media account. I do my best to ignore them as well.

" _Reassure Maya with some sort of romantic gesture_." Aria says.

I look up to see Maya staring down at the table with an uncomfortable expression. So I lift my leg under the table and rub my it across her calf muscle, stroking up and down. Maya looks up at me with a questioning look and I give her a winning smile. She blushes and looks down.

I set my phone down giving her my full attention and lean slightly across the table. "So, how did I end up going out with the most awesome girl at Rosewood Academy?...I mean was it my irresistible charm or my really nice butt?" I ask teasingly.

Maya lets out a giggle. "I think it was your incredible modesty." She says sarcastically.

We both let out a laugh at that.

Alison shifts out the corner of my eye and my attention is immediately drawn to her.

But before I can say anything, the waitress returns with our drinks and food.

Geez, that was fast.

She sets out plates and drinks down in front of us. "Please let me know if you need anything else..." she says turning to leave, but not before she catches my eye. I give her a smirk and a wink, and she blushes deeply before walking away.

" _Emily you dog_." I hear Hanna joke teasingly.

I smile to myself as I look down at my plate of food.

It's Brooklyn style pizza...yes! I quickly bite into one of the slices.

"How's your pizza?" I hear Alison whisper softly into my ear.

I nearly jump three feet in the air but I compose myself and give her a smile. "It's delicious. How's your salad?" I ask.

"Leafy." Alison responds with a teasing smile.

"Well that's what you get for ordering vegetables at a pizza joint." I tease and she shoves my shoulder playfully. "Maybe your boy toy will share his deep dish with you." At that moment we both look over to see him shoving pizza in his mouth with no regard to the ladies sitting around him.

"No, I'm okay." Alison says looking at him with her faced scrunched up in disgust.

I laugh softly then look down at my plate. I pick up a slice of pizza and offer it to Alison. "Try it..." I insist.

Alison stares at me hesitantly for a moment before she leans over and takes a bite of the pizza, the entire time her eyes are locked on mine.

I lick my lips unconsciously as I watch her lick the pizza sauce off of her own.

"Delicious." Alison whispers in a husky voice.

My mouth grows dry as I attempt to swallow the dry lump in my throat.

Our eyes are locked, and I can feel that familiar pull in my stomach. My breathing is off, but so is hers.

And for some odd reason I want to lean over and kiss her...I've never felt this before.

What is this...desire?

" _Uh earth to Emily! You're still on a date with Maya remember._ " I hear Hanna practically yell in my ear.

I blink as hard as I can to clear my thoughts before I turn to see Maya and that Cole guy in the middle of a conversation.

Maya blushes at whatever he's saying to her and he gives her a flirtatious smile in response.

I really don't like this guy. But I can't deny that he's damn attractive. He has shaggy blonde hair and piercing green eyes. Eyes you notice from across the room. Really light pink lips and from the length of his shoulders you can tell that he has a nice muscular body. But through all that I do believe he has a punchable face. I'd really like to punch him.

I seriously dislike this guy.

" _Emily say something to Maya._ " Spencer directs.

"How's your pizza Maya?" I ask gaining her attention.

Maya looks over at me and smile. "It's great. I love this place, this is my favorite pizza." She says excitedly.

I smile at her. "You order the same pizza every time?" I asks teasingly.

Maya blushes a little. "It's my favorite kind." She defends.

"See the way I look at pizza, is probably the way people look at ice cream in a ice cream parlor. You're supposed to order every flavor so you can know exactly what's your favorite. I do that every time I come to a pizza place." I say taking a bite of my pizza.

"No wonder why you I beat you in swimming, you have all that pizza weighing you down." Alison jokes as she pats me on the stomach mockingly.

Her hand lingers on my abs, brushing her fingers against them lightly.

I bite my lip to suppress my groan.

"You didn't beat me." I start in a low voice before playfully shoving her. "You cheated." I reiterate again. "And you know I'm still going to kick your ass for lying to my mom about it. Now I have to go home and tell her that her favorite guest is a cheater." I joke.

" _She's met your mom?_ " I hear Spencer asks curiously in my ear.

"Oh please, your mom loves me..." Alison says, but her eyes are locked on Maya when she says it. "...she would never believe you." Alison says leaning into me. And instinctively I put my arm around her causing her to have more cuddle room.

We stare at each other with a smile before we hear Cole clear his throat.

We quickly jump apart, sitting upright. Alison gives a sheepish smile, and I glare at Cole from across the table.

"So Maya how's the football team looking this year. Think we'll see you at finals?" Alison asks.

Mhmm that's a weird change of direction.

"Most likely. Our quarterback is All-State." Maya says with a small shrug before turning to face me. "Maybe if we go to finales, you can rent a hotel room with me and drive to watch the game together. Everyone does it at the Academy it's like a tradition or something." She says with a smile.

I smile back and open my mouth to respond but I'm cut off-

"Speaking of Football. Did you know that Cole here is the starting quarterback at Hollis college?" Alison says with a flirtatious smile as she reaches across the table to grab his hand.

I try my hardest not to glare at their clasped hands but I can't help it.

For some reason that fucking bothered me.

"I heard the Hollis football team got creamed last night against Penn. State..." I say giving him a mock confused look as I tilt my head questioningly at him.

Alison eyes widen at me giving me an incredulous look and Maya bites her lip to contain her smile.

Cole clears his throat and sits up straight in his seat. "We've been having a tough season so far but it's turning around." He says with a forced smile. "I know me and the guys have been working harder." He defends.

"Well that's good to hear. I know how hard it is to get scouted for the NFL when your on a losing team." I say. "Is that something that you want to do? Go Professional?" I asks.

He bites his lip and nods his head. "Yeah I want to."

I scrunch up my face condescendingly. "Woah that's tough, I hear the statics for people who make it pro is like 1 to 50...and it sucks that your on losing team, it's even harder to get scouted. But good luck though." I say taking a sip of my drink.

" _Damn Emily, do you need some pepper to go with that salt...?_ " I hear Hanna asks in my ear.

I grunt out a response because I can't really respond without looking suspicious. But I do slouch back in my chair like a perfectly scolded child.

The conversation goes on but I sulk silently in my sit.

That's until I feel something slide in my hand.

It's another hand...to be specific it's Alison's hand.

She's not looking at me, just participating in the conversation but she gives my hand a squeeze to let me know that she can feel my eyes on her.

I smile slightly and rejoin the conversation.

The night goes on without another hitch. Me and Maya got to know each other more, our questions ranging from school to hobbies. I could see a sparkle in her eye whenever I would talk to her, but whenever my statements seemed too flirtatious Alison would give my hand a slight squeeze and I'd do the same thing when she would flirt with Cole.

So lets just say things are now confusing between me and Alison.

We all gather up our things as the night ends. And I'm the last one out of the booth. I drop a pretty hefty tip, as I leave fair for me, Maya and Alison. Cole is not only a cow when it comes to eating but he's a cheap date.

He assumed they were going Dutch.

Fucking bastard.

But man did I look like a stud when I payed for both girls and left a tip.

Everyone is outside waiting and as I make my way towards the exit I run into Anna the waitress. "So did you ever think about my payment?" I asks teasingly. I really don't expect her to respond with anything but a blush. But she nods her head then writes something down on a piece of paper. She rips it off her notepad then hands it to me.

"Call me. And I'll tell you." She says with a wink before walking away.

I look down at the number in shock. Besides Maya she's the only other girl to ever just outright throw herself at me.

Cool.

I stuff the number in my front jean pocket and make myself outside to find everyone waiting for me.

"It was nice meeting you Emily, Maya..." Cole says, his eyes lingering on Maya a bit to long. "Am I taking you home Alison?" he asks.

"Well you are the one who brought me here." She says with an eye roll, as she begins walking over to his car with him following behind her. She doesn't say her goodbyes she just offers me a small smile over her shoulder before she disappears into the passenger side of the car.

Me and Maya watch them drive off before we finally face each other.

"I don't want to seem to forward but can I offer you a ride home?" Maya asks sheepishly.

"Uhh..." I start to say. I don't know if my mom is home or out with her book club.

" _Say yes!"_ Spencer yells in my ear.

"Yes." I say with a smile.

Maya smiles softly as we walk towards her car. As we get approaches she stops walking.

"Damnit I think I left my purse in that booth. Get in the car I'll be right back." She instructs handing me her keys to the car as she jogs back towards the restaurant.

I sigh then hop into her car shutting the door behind me. I lean over placing the keys into the ignition before I scream terrified when Aria's head pops into the window.

"Hi." Aria says with a big smile.

I place my hand over my heart, trying to gain control of its rapid beating. "What the hell Aria!" I say through clenched teeth.

"Sorry." Aria says sheepishly as she climbs into the driver side of the car. "Spencer sent me out here to switch your camera. She said the signal was going to go out if you moved to far away from us." She explains as she starts fiddling with the camera on my shirt, switching it with the other one.

After a moment of silence I finally ask the question that's been plaguing my thoughts since she got into the car. "How am I doing?" I ask nervously.

"Honestly?" Aria asks, and I nod my head. "I think your doing...good. Maya seems to really like you, and your doing a perfectly good job of wooing her." She speaks softly.

I let out a small breath of relief. "Good."

"But.." Aria continues. "I don't know why you agreed to this date because it's clear your not interested in her...its even clearer that you're interested in another girl." She finishes pinning the camera to my shirt before looking me square in the eyes.

"What do you mean?" I ask swallowing the lump in my throat.

I know exactly what she means.

Aria gives me a soft smile. "You know exactly what I mean. You and Alison held hands the entire night. It was like you were on a date with her too, you even paid for her food." Aria stares.

"Well I had to! Her asshole of a date wasn't going to." I defend.

"Which is understandable, but Emily...we both know that it was more to it then that." Aria states.

I sigh and drop my head back against the headrest. "What do you think I should do? It's clear that I'm crushing on her but I don't want to ruin our friendship." I say pathetically.

Aria just shrugs. "Do whatever your instincts tell you to do...and maybe you'll find out that your feelings for her isn't so one sided."

I lift from my seat and stare at her in confusion. But before I can ask what she means by that, her eyes widen and she turns pale as a ghost.

"Shit Maya's coming back!" She whispers harshly.

I turn to see Maya approaching the car and I quickly act by clicking on the high beams of her car as Aria quickly jumps in the back seat, covering herself with whatever pile of crap is resting back there.

"Hey, can you kill the lights?" Maya asks as she shields her face away from the light.

"Uhhh...y-yeah." I stutter out, turning the lights off.

Maya climbs into her car and gives me an odd look. "Why'd you turn the brights on?" She asks curiously.

"Oh, I-I uh...I was trying to turn on the radio." I lie.

Maya gives me a strange look before she lets out a laugh. "Right." She starts the car and pulls out from the parking lot.

" _Is Aria still in the damn car with you!?_ " Spencer whispers harshly.

" _Fuck this is not good!"_ I hear Hanna adds. I take a chance and glance behind me, checking on Aria. She's hidden pretty well. Out of Maya's back window I see Spencer and Hanna following behind us.

I roll my eyes at them.

So much for being incognito.

We drive in silence for a while before Maya flicks on the radio and some rap music starts blasting out of the stereo.

"You can turn if you want, I know a lot of people aren't really into rap." Maya says causally.

"No it's fine. I like Drake." I state with a shrug as I stare out the window. We ride in silence again, the music playing softly in the background.

I feel a hand smack me on the arm and I turn to see Aria pointing firmly to Maya. She twirls her wrists indicating that I should carry on the conversation.

"So uh...is this the only type of music your into?" I asks.

"Oh no." Maya says with a smile. "My mother's in an orchestra, she plays the cello, so all classical music around the house." She says with a playful shiver.

I let out a laugh as we fell back into conversation about our likes and dislikes.

But throughout the car ride only one thought kept coming to mind: Maya's a nice girl but there was just something missing between us.

When we pull up in front of my house Maya kills the engine and turns to looks at me.

"Well thank you for the ride home." I say giving her a smile before reaching to leave. When I grab the door handle, Aria smacks my arm again and points to the door. "Uh...walk me to my door?" I ask.

I get out of the car and Maya follows behind me, but she stops short of the front porch. I look around to see if my moms car is here, but I don't spot anything.

Good, she's still at her book club meeting.

I turn to face Maya when I step on the porch and she doesn't follow me. She's facing me, her back is turned towards the street.

In the background I can see Aria climbing out of the car, when she shuts the door her skirt gets caught in the door.

Seriously?!

"Look Emily, I can walk you to your door, but then I'd be to tempted to kiss you, and I really like you, you know? And I don't want to risk anything by moving to fast...so rather than torture myself. I'm just going to say goodnight...so goodnight." Maya says before turning to leave.

I quickly grab her shoulder in an attempt to stop her. When I spin her back towards me we collide heads.

"Owe!" I groan rubbing the inflicted area.

Maya does the same thing, giving me a sheepish smile.

"I think I bobbed, when you...weaved" I say with a laugh.

Maya nods her head. "Yeah...uh goodnight." She says making a move to leave again.

But this time I cup her face and gently turn her to face me, avoiding another accident. "I've always liked a little risk." I whisper before kissing her gently on the lips.

But I only kiss her for a brief second before I'm pulling back.

Out the corner of my eye I see Aria pull herself free from the car door. She gives me a thumbs up before she taking off running towards Spencer's truck that was hidden down the street.

I look back to Maya, who still has her eyes closed and her lips puckered from our kiss.

I lean back in and kiss her on the cheek. "Goodnight Maya." I say softly, before quickly walking into my house.

She finally opens her eyes and turns to look at me, I give her a wave goodbye before shutting my front door.

I let out a breath and lean against the door.

I can hear her getting into her car, starting it up, and driving off.

" _Good job Emily. I think you really won Maya over_." Spencer says in my ear startling me.

Crap I forgot that thing was still on.

I mutter a quickly "thanks." And take off the camera and earpiece setting them on the table in the hallway, before jogging upstairs to my room.

I flop down backwards on my bed, starring up at my ceiling.

Today has been one hell of a day.

I close my eyes and sleep comes easy.

~x~X~x~ Friday Night ~x~X~x~

The school day went by fairly fast.

School was boring as usual. I was surprised to still have a seat at the popular table after what I did the other day.

But Alison gave them strict instructions of not to bother me.

Most of them agreed willingly while others, aka Mona, still decided to give me a hard time.

Noel just likes to throw out sexist comments every now and then. But I know he doesn't mean anything by it.

But despite what happened last night Alison has been avoiding me.

I thought we were good...better than good even. I mean she held my hand the entire night. But today she's been quiet and when we would see each other in the halls she'd just gives me a strained smile and walk on by.

I wonder what I did to make her upset with me.

But that question will have until another day.

Because right now I am currently sitting at a table waiting on CeCe to return with our drink.

Just then a glass of brown liquid is set down in front of me. "There you go, one Jack and Coke." CeCe says before sitting across from me.

"Uhh...what happened to just my coke?" I asks as I look at the drink with uneasiness.

"You looked like you could take the edge off, and I got it in good with the bartender..." CeCe says, sending a wave over to said bartender before looking back over to me with a smile. "Drink up girl, you need to loosen up." She encourages as she takes a gulp of the drink in front of her.

I scrunch up my face as I inhale the strong smell.

Oh god, I think it singed my nose hair.

"Uhh..." I've never had a drink before besides the jungle juice, and it smelt nothing like this. I look to CeCe again to see her amused face before I take a sip

from the straw.

The coke doesn't do much to mask the strong taste and the jack is very strong.

I let out a small cough as it burns down my throat. "It's good." I say with a forced smile.

CeCe tosses her head back letting out a loud laugh, before she switches the drinks in front of me. "You're too easy man." She says shaking her head.

I take a sip of the drink in front of me.

It's just coke.

She's such an ass.

I teach across the table and swat her on the arm. This causes her to laugh even more.

"Honestly I didn't expect you to drink it." She says sipping from the jack and Coke. "Don't worry, I know I'm a minor, but I don't force other minors to drink. Peer pressure isn't really my thing." She adds with a wink.

I roll my eyes at her and look down at the table.

"So what's got you down?" CeCe asks, after a moment of silence.

I look up surprised at her question. "Uh...nothing. I just...I have a lot on my plate right now." I answer cryptically.

"Yeah, I noticed. Your now one of the most popular girls in school, not to mention you just recently came out...and don't get me started on hanging out with my sister. I heard about your double date last night." CeCe says.

My eyes widen. "She told you?" I asks surprised.

"No. I overheard her telling Mona." CeCe says staring at me for a moment. "I just don't get it sometimes...when I first met you, you were so cool and quiet. You marched to the beat of your own drum, you even stood up to the popular assholes. And now...it's like you're one of them." She says shaking her head in confusion.

I look down in slight shame. She sounds an awful lot like Lucas.

"I'm still the same person, the only thing that's changed is my wardrobe. I still stand up to the popular kids, even though I'm one of them now." I defend.

"Yeah, but still...it's different now. You seem different." CeCe says weakly.

I let out a scoff. "Most people like the new me..." I throw out.

"Well I liked the old you too. The one who showed up early for detention because she's never had it before..." CeCe says with a smile. "The one who would get flustered whenever someone talked to her. It gave you an innocence...I feel like someone stripped all that away from you." She says sadly.

I nod my head as we fall into a brief silence.

"I had to grow up at some point right?" I ask, giving her a strained smile. "And like I said before not much has changed. The only difference is I pretend to know what I'm doing instead of just looking clueless." I answer honestly.

This causes her to smile. "That's good to know." CeCe says honestly.

We sit in silence for a moment. It's a very comfortable silence, as we enjoy the music from the bands playing on stage.

When CeCe's friend takes the stage with his band we move closer to the stage. He's pretty good. Good enough to bring the house down. But throughout the night CeCe kept ordering drinks for us, of course mine was a coke and hers of course was not.

After their final set I realized that CeCe's uncoordinated dance moves wasn't because she was having a good job but because the alcohol was probably getting to her.

She's drunk off her ass.

I had to drive her car home and help her get up to her front door.

I was going to leave but I realized she probably couldn't enter her house properly.

And I'd feel bad if I abandoned her.

When we entered the house I carried her over to the kitchen table, sitting her down as gently as I can but she still managed to almost fall over.

"Woah!" CeCe yells loudly as she catches herself by bracing her hands on the table. She then begins to laugh hysterically.

"Shh." I say frantically. "You'll wake the house." I whisper. I dig around her cabinet looking for cups. When I find one I pour her a big glass of water. "You have to drink this." I instruct setting the cup down in front of her.

CeCe rolls her eyes as she takes a big gulp of water. She looks up at me, starring at me with a dry expression. "I just don't get it." She mutters shaking her head.

"Don't get what?" I ask confused.

"Why do you hang out with my sister...she's such a bitch...so bad for you... and you were the one person in the whole school who I thought wouldn't fall into her trap, and now you're just like everyone else...eating out the palm of her hand." CeCe rambles drunkenly.

But I hear every word she says.

I let out a deep breath as I pinch the bridge of my nose.

She's drunk. I don't want to have this conversation with her.

I look down to see her staring at me with big doe-eyes waiting for my response. So I give her a watered down version of what I feel.

"Look she's not that bad..." I defend softly. "You of all people should know that." I say slightly scolding her. "When I'm with your sister she's not the same girl she is in school. She's softer, more gentle. We have fun together...I feel like a different person but a good type of different. She makes me feel brave." I say honestly.

But CeCe doesn't wants to hear it. She shakes her head vehemently. "No! She's a bitch! And she's using you for whatever she fucking wants...whatever that's for.. and when she's done she'll just toss you aside! Like you meant nothing to her...you deserve better than her!" CeCe says standing up shakily before walking over to me.

I frown at her in confusion. "Why are you saying these things?" I ask softly.

"Because you..." CeCe lets out a deep breath as she tries to calm herself down. She takes my hand in hers with one hand, and grips the back of my neck with the other. "Because you deserve better than that." She rushes out frantically and then she kisses me.

She fucking kisses me right on the lips, completely catching me off guard.

I barely kiss back before I hear a loud gasp.

That definitely didn't come from CeCe, her mouth was a bit preoccupied.

I pull back from CeCe to see Alison standing in the doorway, with wide hurt eyes.

Please tell me I'm dreaming.

Please tell me that Alison didn't just witness her sister planting one on me.

I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment, praying that when I open them she's just a figment of my imagination.

But we all know luck was never on my side.

I open my eyes again. But this time her eyes are pure black and her face stone like. "Ali, I can explain-" I start but she shakes her head cutting me off.

"Get out." She says quietly. Her voice cold.

My heart drops at the command. I try to step forward but she puts her hand up stopping me, then points to the door. "I said out!" She all but yells.

I swallow the lump in my throat before nodding my head, following her command.

I leave silently.

~x~X~x~ At home ~x~X~x~

After I made it home, and successfully snuck into my room, because who am I kidding I'm way past my curfew.

I slipped out of my clothes and into my night clothes; just a sharks swim shirt and a pair of shorts.

I flopped backwards on my bed staring up at my ceiling.

I knew sleep wouldn't come easy. I had too many thoughts on my mind.

At the beginning of the week I had never kissed anyone, and now we're at the end of the week and I've kissed three different girls.

All of which have been for different reasons.

I kissed Spencer for practice.

I kissed Maya to help Aria get her skirt out of a car door.

And CeCe? Well I didn't really kiss CeCe she kissed me...and I don't know what that was for.

I let out a sigh.

This week was a crazy jumbled mess.

I close my eyes hoping that sleep comes to me, and right when I'm about to drift off I hear tapping at my window.

Fuck.

I get out of bed and look out my window to see non other than Alison throwing rocks at it.

I watch as she picks up a bigger pebble preparing to throw it. But when she spots me, she drops it to the ground, then motions for me to come down.

Shit she wants to kill me.

I'm sure she's already killed her sister.

I nod my head and flee as quickly but quietly as I can.

As I descended the stairs I was mentally prepping myself on what I was going to say. So when I swung my door open and made my way over to Alison I was more than ready to plead my case.

I spot her pacing in the yard, watching the ground as she walks.

Shit. It's worse than I thought. She's really going to kill me now.

She hasn't looked up yet.

I take a deep breath and move closer to her. "Look Alison about what you saw, I can explain-" but I can't explain because I'm cut off with the most delicious pair of lips on my own.

Holy shit. Alison Dilaurentis is kissing me.

It takes me a moment to respond but eventually I do, by wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her closer to me.

This is the most passionate kiss I've ever experienced.

It's making my heart swell with joy and Alison wraps her arms around my neck as the kiss deepens.

When air becomes a necessity we both pull back, and Alison rests her forehead against my own.

I stare at her for a moment trying to gauge her reaction, when she gives me a small smile I can't help the shit eating grin that encases my face.

"Best. Kiss. Ever." I mutter before pulling her into another kiss.

I've been kissed a total of four times this week.

And this is the kiss that will go down in history.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry about the late update I was moving this week and last week so everything has been pretty hectic and than I caught the flu! A lot of Emison fluff. Hopefully some of your questions that you've been asking in the comments will be answered. Nothing to heavy this epi, because this is definitely the storm before the calm. Please read and enjoy.**

 **It's in Alison's POV but it doesn't start from the kiss but the time leading up to it.**

 **Alison Dilaurentis Must Die:**

 **Episode 9: For The First Time.**

 **Alison's POV.**

~x~X~x~ Friday ~x~X~x~

I had been ignoring Emily all day.

After our double date last night I couldn't stop thinking about holding her hand and how natural it felt.

Or how natural it felt to become upset with her when that redheaded waitress wouldn't stop flirting with her! Or whenever Maya kept making googly eyes at her from across the table.

But Emily had to feel something too right?

She wouldn't let go of my hand either, and whenever Cole looked at me like he wanted to ravish me, she'd squeeze my hand so tight, I would lose circulation in my fingers for minutes at a time.

But I don't know what any of this means.

Hence the reason I've been ignoring her.

All I do know is, I want to be around Emily and I want to hold her hand whenever or wherever I want to.

The only person that I've ever dated and gave a damn about was back in middle school and that ended in a disaster and I've never been serious with anyone ever since.

So maybe I'm lonely. And just craving something more than a fling.

I look back over my shoulder at Emily sitting in her desk. This is the only time besides lunch that I get to see her with a confined room.

I love Mr. Fitz class because of that reason, other than that, I think the guys a pervert, who needs to be fired.

And I have my reasons for saying that, I'm just not at liberty to say.

She's taking down notes of whatever Mr. Fitz is lecturing about.

Her face is doing that scrunching thing it does when she's concentrating.

It's so adorable.

God, I need to stop thinking like that.

Emily looks up and catches my eye. She gives me a genuine smile and I can feel that familiar pull in my stomach.

I quickly force a smile and look away, missing the frown she gives me.

And this happens the entire day.

She'd see me and try to catch my attention but all I do is run and hide from her because I don't know what to do anymore.

I'm not in control of the situation.

Something's happening inside of me and I don't know what to do with it.

And it's not just a girl crush...it's so much more.

Like I get freaking angry when I watch Jenna put the mack on Emily at lunch.

And at least how three girls walk by our table, trying to get Emily attention.

And I can't help but feel extreme jealously, later that night, when I hear my sister announce to my mom that she's going out to a concert with Emily.

But there's nothing I can do about it. Because Emily is allowed to make her own friends or whatever else they want to be...regardless of my feelings towards them.

Even if they're my sister.

God, why did it have to be my sister.

She's out living it up with Emily and I'm here alone on a Friday night, like the loser I am lying on my bed, starring up at my ceiling thinking about Emily.

And it's not like I didn't have any offers for to go out...I mean come on, I get offers every day, but I just honestly didn't have the heart for it.

Not when all I can think about it Emily.

Her sly smile; the way the corners of her mouth quirks up when she knows something you don't.

Her hair; the way it flows over her shoulder and down her back. It's soft and wavy.

The way she squints her eyes whenever something plagues her thoughts or when she's trying to solve problems in her head.

Or how soft her hands are. The way her touch lingers when she brushes my arm. How her fingers wrap around mine when she grips my hand.

And my heart flutters with every passing thought of her.

And I truly don't want to have these feelings towards her, but I can't help it. What started off as lust, matured into a crush, and now I'm certain that I like her...like her a lot actually.

When I'm around her I get these goose bumps on my arm. When she smiles I can literally feel my heart speed up with excitement. And when she touches me something inside my stomach flutters.

But I know she doesn't feel the same way as me. She never will.

I mean think about it, the other day at my cabin, I tried to lean in and kiss her and she stoped me.

I was so embarrassed that I just ran away.

It was the most pathetic thing I've ever done.

God did the sun go down already?

When I turn to look at my clock I see that it's already going on one in the morning.

Where the hell are they?

Just then I hear the front door open and a clatter of noise comes from the doorway. I can hear CeCe laughing hysterically as Emily tries to keep her quiet.

Is she drunk?

I frown and toss the covers off my form as I roll out of bed. I open my door as softly as I can hoping not to alert them that I'm still home, and creep down the stairs as quietly as I can. When I get to the bottom that when I can hear they're conversation.

Shh, you'll wake the house." I hear Emily whisper. I hear the cabinet doors open and the water run. "You have to drink this." She instructs her.

It's silent for a while and I can only assume that CeCe is drinking from the cup "I just don't get it." CeCe slurs out.

"Don't get what?" Emily ask.

"Why do you hang out with my sister...she's such a bitch...so bad for you... and you were the one person in the whole school who I thought wouldn't fall into her trap, and now you're just like everyone else...eating out the palm of her hand." CeCe rambles drunkenly.

I frown, because that stung a little bit.

Fucking bitch! Why the hell is she saying that stuff about me.

And again it grows silent.

"Look she's not that bad...you of all people should know that. When I'm with your sister she's not the same girl she is in school. She's softer, more gentle. We have fun together...I feel like a different person but a good type of different. She makes me feel brave." Emily says softly with a sigh.

Her admission makes me smile.

Well until it's wiped completely off my face by my sisters voice.

"No! She's a bitch! And she's using you for whatever she fucking wants...whatever that's for.. and when she's done she'll just toss you aside! Like you meant nothing to her...you deserve better than her!" CeCe yells.

Even though me and my sister have a complicated, though some would say toxic relationship, it still pained me to hear her say those words about me.

"Why are you saying these things?" Emily ask softly.

And I chose that moment to round the corner. I bet my sister wouldn't be as bold with her words if I was standing right there.

But what I see is more than I bargained for.

And it stops my heart.

"Because you..." CeCe lets out a deep breath. "Because you deserve better than that."

And then she fucking kisses Emily, right on the lips.

I let out a gasps at the sudden action and Emily pulls back from the kiss with a shocked expression on her face.

I'm not sure if it was from being kissed or being caught by me, but either way I didn't care.

I watch as she squeezes her eyes closed and opens the as if she's trying to come up with something to say.

I drop the surprised look from my face and I can feel my features harden.

"Ali, I can explain-" Emily starts but I shake my head cutting her off.

Suddenly I don't want to hear anything she has to say.

She kissed my fucking sister! My sister!

I couldn't deal with it!

"Get out." I say quietly. My voice colder than I intended it to be.

She frowns and I can see the gears turning into her head as she tries to come up with something to say. But I won't allow it.

"I said out!" I all but yell.

She jumps startled at my words before nodding her head dejectedly as she walks towards the door. Leaving silently.

I didn't even turn to see her leave. Instead I keep my glare on CeCe, who's leaning drunkenly against the island in the middle of the kitchen.

When I hear the front door slam I let out a low growl.

"Cut the bullshit Charlotte, we both know your not drunk." I say the words seething between my clinched teeth.

I've been living with CeCe long enough to know when she's faking intoxication or not. I've seen her get out of and get away with many of things when she stumbles and fumbles around pretending to not know what she saying or doing.

Like now. She's totally faking.

CeCe rolls her eyes at me as she picks up the cup from the table and drinks the remainder of her water that Emily poured her. When she sets it on the counter she leans causally.

"You never let me have any fun." CeCe says with a playful pout.

My glare intensifies. "Do you think this is funny?" I asks through gritted teeth.

"The look on your face?" CeCe asks casually. "Hell yeah."

"Did you seriously have to kiss her?! What the hell did she ever do to you, for you to drag her into this!" I asks.

CeCe eyes flashes angrily. "It's always about you." She says shaking her head. "You ever once stopped to think that I could just possibly like Emily."

My frown melts away and I try to keep my face neutral but I'm sure I'm failing. "Do you...like Emily?" I damn near stutter out.

CeCe just shrugs. "What's not to like? She's smart, fun, and if you couldn't tell gorgeous as hell. So what if I like her? I mean she certainly did kiss me back... so what if she like me too." She says challenging.

My glare is back full force. I'll be damned if I let her start dating Emily.

"If you really liked her and she liked you too you wouldn't have had to drag me through the mud to get her attention." I accuse. "Because in reality if it came down to me and you she would choose me. Easily." I argue back.

"Which is a crime in itself because you suck, and she deserves much better than you." She states with a glare.

That stung.

"Yeah? Well your not as awesome as you think. For the past years we've been living in toleration of each other, and now all of a sudden you despise me. You can't even admit what this is really about..." I say and I can see her eyes widen slightly at my brutal words. "You're still holding on to the fact that I got Jason sent away and instead of confronting me face to face you've been to chicken shit to say anything. And now your going after Emily to piss me off. So if anyone doesn't deserve Emily it's definitely you."

I watch CeCe swallow the lump in her throat. "That might be so, but at least I go after what I want instead of pushing people away when I get too scared. You did it with Paige and your doing it with Emily... hell I'm sure you even did it with Ha-"

"Don't!" I interrupt her. "Don't you dare go there." I warn.

CeCe lets out a self deprecating laugh. "See you can never own up to your mistakes. You run away like the little coward you are. You only take what you want when it benefits you. You don't deserve anybody...you deserve to be alone." She concludes smugly.

And to those words I have no defense...because she's right. Whenever I always feared something I just pushed it aside, even if it costed me a chance at happiness. But you know what I'm not going to let that happen anymore.

I won't lose Emily to her.

"Well that may be true but I'll be damned if I let you have her!" And with that I turn on my heels and storm out the door, to get some air to clear my head.

I am a coward.

I am a bitch.

I am everything she said I was, but I'm not heartless. Even if I tend to go through guys like tissue, I still want the same things everyone wants. To be loved...but more than that, to be loved by the person that I might actually love back. And no matter what fucked up things I've done in the past, I know I at least deserves that.

Shit when did I get here?

I look up to see I'm standing right in front of Emily's house.

I guess subconsciously I came here because I know I owe her an apology. She didn't deserve my wrath. I took something out on her that was strictly meant for CeCe.

Shit, I know it's close to two in the morning, the entire house is sleep and I'm sure Emily is too.

But it doesn't help to try.

I look around then scoop up a handful of small pebbles and begin to toss them at her window.

Nothing.

I drop the small pebbles in my hand to find a bigger one.

When that one connects to the glass I just knew it cracked that window.

But still nothing...

I spot an even bigger pebble and lean down to grab it. When I turn to throw it at the window, I see Emily peering down at me with a confused expression on her face.

And even then she's the most beautiful girl in the world.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts as I motion for her to come down. She nods her head before disappearing from sight.

I let out a deep breath as I begin to wring my hands nervously. "Okay Alison you can do this..." I whisper quietly to myself as I start pacing slightly back and forth. "Just tell her that you're sorry and that you don't know why you freaked out. And that you would like to remain friends..." I practice.

But then I stop pacing when the real question hits me.

Do I really want to just be her friend now?

I mean from the beginning I felt a connection between us that was deeper than friendship, granted most of it was lust, but still. I don't think I can just be her friend anymore, not with how bad I want her.

But can I really just cross that line with Emily?

"Look Alison, about what you saw..." Emily says catching my attention. "I can explain...—".

But I don't allow her to because I grip her cheeks tightly in my hand and kiss her.

It takes her a moment to respond and I begin to grow nervous but she then starts participating in it deepening it slightly.

I groan softly into the kiss before wrapping my arms around her neck to gain leverage. The make-out session goes on longer than I intended and when oxygen becomes a necessity, she pulls back with a dazed look on her face.

"Best. Kiss. Ever." She mutters before pulling me into another kiss **.**

And I could literally die from this, it's to good to be true.

I push Emily against the side of her house and move as close as possible to her.

I can't get enough of her lips.

They're so fucking addictive.

I let out a loud groan as Emily slips her tongue in my mouth and switches our position, now pushing me up against the side of her house now.

"Ali..." she mutters softly, before lifting me up by my thighs and sliding between my legs. I instinctively hook my legs behind her back.

Dammit. Who knew Emily could be this...sexy?

I let out a deep breath as I toss my head back in pleasure, and Emily kisses down my neck.

And I know I'm going to lose it, if she doesn't stop.

But it feels so good.

She lightly bites my neck and I'm sure that I wet myself..

Okay, it's time to stop.

"Em..." I groan out while pushing on her shoulders. Forcing her to look at me. "We have to stop or the entire neighborhood is going to see our business." I say with a teasing smile.

Emily blushes deeply before lowering my legs gently to the ground. "Sorry." She says sheepishly running her hands through her hair. "I guess I got carried away."

I smile and give her a shrug. "I don't blame you...I mean I am just that hot." I say casually.

Emily rolls her eyes at me. "Lets not forget modest too." She mutter sarcastically before looking around the dark neighborhood. "Not to imply that that kiss was anything short of amazing...but I'm a little confused as to why it happened." Emily says with a frown.

I sigh and move around her, closer to the open field on the side of her house, so I'm no longer trapped against the house anymore. "Can we have this conversation somewhere more...private?" I ask.

Emily frowns in confusion for a moment before nodding and taking my hand. "We can go to my room. We just have to be quiet sneaking in." She says walking me up here front porch, then pulling me into her house and quietly up her stairs.

When we enter her room. She softly shuts the door then locks it.

Hmm. I like the way this is going.

She turns away from the door slowly, and looks over to me shyly.

She rests her back heavily on the door and we make eye contact instantly.

And I don't know how to describe it, but it's like this electric charge just floats through the room, and then I'm suddenly thinking about her lips being back on mines again.

But before I can make my way over to her she's already standing in front of me, pulling me into a passionate kiss.

It heats up pretty quickly and Emily is pushing me on her bed, her body resting between my legs as she slides her tongue into my mouth.

God she's such a fucking good kisser.

We make out for what seems like hours but I'm sure it's only been several minutes.

I can feel a familiar pull in my stomach. And I only get this feeling when I'm around Emily.

I shiver as she rubs her hands against the side of my body.

Okay this has to stop or we'll never talk. I gently place my hands on her shoulders, giving her a light push.

"Em..." I whisper against her lips.

She pulls back and looks at me with dark eyes. "Did I get carried away again?"

She asks sheepishly, a blush creeping back up on her face.

I smile at her reaction.

She's so cute.

God it feels weird to just admit these things openly.

Well openly admit them in my mind.

"Maybe a little..." I say teasingly.

She rolls her eyes before rolling off of me, lying down next to me. "Sorry." I hear her mutter under her breath.

I don't respond.

We lay in silence for well over ten minutes, neither one of us saying the thoughts that plague our minds.

I have questions, lots of them, and I'm sure she has a few of her own.

So I guess if she won't start talking, I'll be the one to do it.

"I'm sorry I kissed you." I felt that was the right thing to do. Apologize, but if she wanted to kiss me too then she won't except my apology.

At my words Emily turns to look me, but she doesn't accept nor deny my apology, so I continue on.

"But you kissed me back...so does that mean what I think of means?" I asks timidly.

Emily doesn't respond immediately, she just looks back towards my ceiling. "I don't know." She admits softly. And I'm a little disappointed at her words.

Early today, I came to the conclusion that I liked her...a lot, and I was hoping she felt the same way.

"Oh...I see." I say, trying to control the crack in my voice. "I guess I'm really sorry that I kissed you then." I'm trying to blink back the tears that wants to gather in my eyes, there's a knot in my throat and I'm starting to sweat.

I hate it when I get this way.

So hopeful and so damn vulnerable.

It's almost a 99.9 percent let down for me.

But it's always been so hard to hide my emotions from Emily. I think that's why I ignore most of the time, because I know that if I see her or talk to her, I might spill all my secrets and that's not good for anyone. Especially me, with my let down percentage.

"Hey..." Emily says calling my attention to her. She sits up, resting on her right elbow to give her leverage over me. She's frowning at me. "Just because I don't know what this means doesn't mean I want it to stop." When I look away from her because the intensity of her gaze becomes to much she grips me by chin, guiding my face back to hers. "But what I do know is that, every time I'm around you I get these weird feelings in my stomach...likes something's floating around in there..." she says with a frown as she struggles to describe her emotions.

I make her nervous?

"I think those are butterflies Em..." I tease softly, smiling at her childlike state.

But Emily bites her lip gently while shaking her head. "No. Whatever it is, they're stronger...their wings, are much faster than butterflies. It's not gentle flapping, it's aggressive, but in a good way. They create a rush within me." I can see the nerves just radiating off of her.

I try to think about different types of birds or insects that can describe what Emily is feeling.

But only one comes to mind.

"Like hummingbirds?" I asks curiously.

Emily nods softly. "Yeah...like hummingbirds. You give me hummingbirds Ali." She says with a cheesy smile.

My heart feels heavy.

But not the bad kind, the good kind.

"You give me hummingbirds too." I whisper softly, I bring my hand up to touch her cheek, and Emily nuzzles her face into my hand.

"How long have they been in there?" I asks curiously.

Emily looks away like she's considering my question. "I don't know a couple of weeks maybe." She shrugs looking back down at me. "I just thought I was nervous about-" she trails off.

"About what?" I asks with a frown.

Emily looks like a dead caught in head lights before she forces a smile. "About popularity...about being around you because of who you were." She says her smile softening. "But now I know you're just as big of a dork as the rest of us, so I really had nothing to be nervous about." Emily teases, pecking my nose.

I giggle and playfully slap her on the shoulder. "Shut up." I mutter, Emily laughs and stops hovering over me, by rolling over on her back.

Now it's my turn to face her, resting my weight on my left elbow, so that I'm hovering over her, like she was with me. I take her in her appearance, as I grip the bottom of her shirt running the material through my pointer finger and thumb.

"Before I ask the question of what does this mean again, I need you to answer a different question...are you and Maya an item?" I ask, swallowing the fear of her answer down.

Emily's face doesn't change. She remains calm. "Maya and I are just friends. I called her yesterday and told her that I thought we should just remain that way. It was way to weird being out on a date with her...especially when..." she starts but trails off.

"Especially when what?" I ask curiously.

Emily looks at me. "When the entire time I just wanted to hold your hand..." she answers. I can see the honesty in her eyes.

I lean up and peck her on the lips. "Good answer." I say with a shit eating grin.

Emily giggles at my reaction before placing a hand on the small of my back. "Do I get a kiss for everything I answer correctly? Because if so I really love this game." She says with a wink.

I slap her on the stomach and she laughs again.

"Shut up...okay next question." I start and I'm already feeling nervous. "What about my sister?" I asks softly.

Emily frowns in thought. She looks away from me.

Great that's never a good sign.

"Honestly, I don't know what happened. One minute we were talking and the next she was kissing me. Truth is... I think your sister is awesome, and amazing, and whatever else wonderful thing she could be..." my heart drops a little at her admission. "But she's not you." And just like that I'm swooning again. "If I'm being honest with you, I always wondered if there was something between me and her. If maybe my feelings for CeCe was more than just friendly, but then you came in like a damn tornado and swooped me off my feet. And this is crazy to say this, but, I know no one is going to live up to that." She looks at me with a shy smile. "Was that to much?" She asks nervously.

Are you kidding me?

"No, that was perfect." I say, blinking back the tears that wants to form.

I can't let her see me being to vulnerable.

"So that brings me to my final question. What does all this mean?" I ask softly.

Again Emily frowns, and it takes her a moment to say anything.

Jesus, how hard is this question, it's either she wants to be with me or not.

"When did the hummingbird start for you?" She asks softly.

I hesitate at her question. I wasn't really expecting her to ask me that.

I think back to when I first knew my feelings for her weren't platonic.

I knew it was after the sex dream. That was just lust, but the first time she gave me hummingbirds was when...

"It was after we went bowling." I start, catching her attention. "I was freaking out about being around you and my friends, and you grabbed me by the shoulders and said that you loved the person I was around you, and that you would always support whatever decision I wanted if I decided to stop hanging out with the popular kids." I explain, bringing my fingers up to stroke her jaw line. "After that it was like the birds built a nest in my belly. I couldn't stop getting them whenever you came around." I say with a smile.

Emily stares at me for a moment before taking the hand I put on her cheek and kissing my palm. "This can be whatever you want it to be." She whispers in a voice full of conviction before lacing our fingers.

I smile brightly, before leaning down and giving her a kiss.

"I think some part of me always knew that we weren't destined to be bestfriends. That there was always something more between us. But I tried my hardest to push it away. I think that's why I denied being friends with you for so long. It wasn't that I was threatened by you, but that I just wanted you so bad. And I couldn't push that away no matter how hard I tried, and I'm so glad that I didn't." I say honestly.

Emily smiles at me, grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me down for a long lingering kiss.

"So..." Emily says leaning up, to rest on her elbows, giving me her undivided attention. "What happened with your sister when I left?" Emily asks curiously.

I let out a sigh and flop back on my bed.

"Reality..." I mutter.

Emily frowns in confusion.

"She's the reason I came here. She's the reason I realized that I couldn't stop running from you or my feelings towards you." I say looking at her, she's frowning in concentration at my words. "And regardless of what words were exchanged, I'm glad it happened." I say with a smile before leaning in to peck her on the lips. Her frown drops at that.

She lets out a small sigh before she looks over at me. "So what do you want this to be? Do you want to date, be girlfriends and girlfriends..." we both giggle childishly at her words.

I let out a calming sigh as I turn to stare at the ceiling. "I don't know...I mean I know we've hung out as friends, but maybe we should try dating. Get to know each other as a potential couple..." I say timidly.

Emily assets me for a moment before a smile breaks out on her face. "I'd like that." She say says almost as timidly as I did.

"Now that that's settled, we should definitely get back to kissing so we can seal the deal." I say giving her a teasing smile.

Emily giggles before rolling on top of me. She stares down at me lovingly for a moment before pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. "I can't really argue with that now can I?" She asks playfully before leaning in kissing me.

She was definitely right...Best. Kiss. Ever.

~x~X~x~ Monday at school ~x~X~x~

I walk into school with an extra bounce in my step today.

I don't know why, but for some reason I'm in a really good mood.

Okay I know why...after my little chat with Emily on Friday, we spent the entire weekend together.

Saturday we went swimming together, and had lunch, and Sunday we went to the movies to see ' _Happy Death Day'_. We held hands the entire time.

Even though they both were simple events, they were really the best dates I had ever been on.

I look up to notice everyone in the halls giving me peculiar stares as I walk pass them. Even as they move out my way they stare at me curiously, which is weird in itself because normally they avoid eye contact like I'm Medusa, and if they stare to long I'd turn them into stone.

And normally I'd rip them a new anus for looking at me so openly but today I really don't feel like it.

I even go as far as smiling at a girl I recognize from my chemistry class.

She faints.

I make it to my locker without anymore incidents. I stuff my things in my locker and take out my English book, but before I close my locker, I feel a small shiver run down my back. I frown in confusion and when I look up I can see Emily down the hall at her locker. Even if she's just in the same area as me she gives me chills. Emily then looks up at me and offers me a small smirk before winking at me.

Holy shit, I can feel my knees wobble.

Just her presence gives me hummingbirds.

I bite my lip to contain the shit eating grin that threatens to break out.

I quickly shut my locker and turn to make my way towards her, she immediately does the same. We walk closer to each other before stopping in the middle.

And we freeze.

It's like time literally stopped and we're trapped inside our own little bubble.

"Hi..." I mutter shyly.

"Hi..." she says softly. She looks me up and down casually taking in my outfit. "You look beautiful today." She says with a small smile.

I can feel myself burn a darker shade.

And then I groan at the blush that burns my cheeks and put my head down in shame. "God, Im such a spaz."

Emily lets out a soft laugh at my behavior before hooking her arm with mine. "Come on, I'll walk you to class." She says with a teasing smile.

"We have the same class..." I say nudging her shoulder playfully.

"Do you prefer to walk alone?" She asks teasingly.

I give her a playful shrug. "Maybe..."

"Well Jenna did ask me to walk her to class. If I leave now I could still catch her..." she says turning as if she was about to walk away to find Jenna.

I pull her back aggressively. "Don't even joke like that." I say sternly.

She just laughs.

She never does take me seriously.

I finally look around the hallways to notice all eyes on us.

But I'm certain it's because the hottest girls in school are walking down the hall together.

It's a good thing Emily's popular now or people would have been confused as to why we were talking, let alone walking in the hall together.

But all we get is lingering stares, most in admiration others in lust.

I shoot everyone nasty glares. "Mind your own business!" I yell and everyone quickly avert their gazes.

Emily eyes widen at my words and she nudges me in my ribs before tightening her arm around mine. "Be nice." She mutters under her breath, before giving some of the students easy smiles to help soften the blow I just caused.

I roll my eyes playfully at her before I shrug uncaringly. "Fine..."'I sigh out dramatically.

That seems to satisfy her.

When we enter the class room I follow Emily to her usual seat in the back, which is completely different than mine, that sits in the middle of the room.

I guess I can get used to not being the center of attention for once.

Emily takes her sit, but the seat next to her is occupied. I glare at the guy occupying the seat and snap my fingers at him, demanding he moves. He scrambles out of his chair grabbing his books and backpack on the way.

Emily shoots me a frown and I just offer her a dazzling smile in a shrug. She rolls her eyes at me but I can see the smile she's trying to hide.

"Slumming it in the now?" I hear Noel Khan say as he takes my usual seat in the middle.

"And I see you didn't hesitate to try and replace me..." I say referring to my chair.

Noel shrugs with his boyish smile on full display. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for attention." He winks at me before turning back around in his chair.

Mr. Fits walks into class and everyone sinks into the chairs silently waiting for him to begin. And he doesn't hesitate to start writing on the bored. But I could care less about his lesson, not when Emily's sitting next to me being all cute and distracting.

Emily rolls her eyes and I pray I didn't say that out loud. "Would you stop looking at me?" She asks without looking over at me.

I smile and move my desk a little closer. "I can't help it, you're really cute." I whisper and Emily blushes and shakes her head at me. "If you don't cut it out we're both going to miss the notes..." she warns half-heartedly.

"Fine..." I say sign a dramatic sigh as I slouch in my chair.

Emily lets out a cute giggle.

"I'm sorry ladies am I interrupting something **?** " Mr. Fitz says standing at the top of the class catching our attention.

The entire class turns to us, even Noel with his stupid smirk.

I see Emily open her mouth to answer but the only thing she's successful of is looking like a fish.

So I quickly step in. "Sorry Ezra..." I say giving him a fake smile. "You know how distracting students can be." I say referring to his escapades with Aria, while giving him a innocent head tilt.

He flushes a deep red and the class laughs at him, he clears his throat loudly before he turns on his heel to begin class, affectively leaving me and Emily alone.

He's to easy.

When I turn to give Emily a victorious smile, she's frowning at me and shaking her head disappointedly **.** **But** before I can say anything she looks back down at her notes breaking eye contact with me.

We don't talk for the rest of the class period.

Great. Just great. What did I do now **.**

When the bell sounds, everyone quickly gatherers their things, along with Emily. I try to quickly follow behind her but on my way out the door I'm stopped by Mr. Fitz.

"Hey Alison, can I talk to you for a moment." He commands/request with a tight smile.

I let out a sigh as I watch Emily get away, not even sparing me a glance over my shoulder.

"Sure." I mutter before sitting in a chair in the front of the class.

He shuts the door behind the last student then turns to me with a scowl on his face. "How long do you plan on keeping this up?" He asks furiously.

I tilt my head innocently pretending not to have a clue as to what he's talking about. "Keep what up Ezra?" He asks.

"That!" He accuses before walking closer to me. "Your constant nasty digs about my personal life needs to stop. Calling me Ezra in class needs to stop." He says stepping in front of me. "We had a deal that you would never mention this to anyone and yet you constantly bring it up. Mocking me, and if anyone was to find out about this—"

"Relax no one's going to find out—" I start but he cuts me off by slamming his hands down on the desk.

"That's not the point." Mr. Fitz says through gritted teeth. "It ends now **.** " He breathes out softly but the threat was definitely there, burning in his eyes.

With the way he's actually looking at me I'm getting a little nervous.

Okay it's time for me to leave.

"Look Mr. Fitz..." I say his name sarcastically. "Here's an idea, you don't want to get in trouble? Then stop fucking around with minors..." he opens his mouth to respond but I hold up my finger cutting him off. "And lets not pretend that Aria's the only girl, because we both know your history." I stand and grab my purse. "And your right we had a deal, and I like to honor my words even it doesn't seem like it. But that deal was only good for last year. You scratched my back so I kept your little secret. Years up now, new terms, new rules. So either you come up with another reason why I should keep your secret or everything's off the table, but you have until this Friday. Present me with something better or end your relationship with Aria or the entire school gets a risky photo of you and Aria in your car." I give him a sinister smile. "Cross me if you dare **.** " I say smugly before storming out of the classroom.

God now I'm late for class, the least he could have done was given me a pass.

What?

Oh you think that was incredible bitchy of me to do that? Well news flash...I'm a bitch.

But Ezra's a pervert. They guy practically preys on little girls and for some odd reason people think it's romantic.

Gross.

And to make matters worst it's with Aria. She's the sweetest girl I've ever known. I can see him now making her feel all warm and fuzzy when he really should be on the sex offenders list and living in a cell with a roommate named Billy Bob.

And if I could I would deliver him straight to authorities, but I have to play it safe. There's things he covered for me last year

That could get me into a whole lot of trouble.

But fuck I'm rambling, I'm still late to class. **.**...

~x~X~x~ Lunch Time ~x~X~x~

I haven't seen Emily all day. I think she's ignoring me.

I've looked in the halls, girls bathroom, I even waited outside her classrooms, it's like she disappeared out of sight.

"So you and Emily huh **?** " I hear Mona asks as she sidesteps me on the way to lunch.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I say continuing my trek to the cafeteria, refusing to turn and look at her.

"Cut the crap Alison, everyone's been talking about how close you two were in the hall, Noel said you even gave up your seat to sit next to her in English class." Mona says.

I shrug. "So what we're friends." I defend.

"Oh honey, we both know it's more than that..." Mona says and I freeze in my step.

I turn to look at her, she's smiling smugly, and I'm sure I resemble a deer caught in headlights.

I look around at all the students filing into the cafeteria and classrooms.

"Clear the hall!" I demand and just like clockwork, the students in the hall scramble like ants to get to their destinations.

I stare down Mona until the last person is out of site. "What are you going on about **?** " I ask, but I know Mona, and she's not stupid. The furthest thing from it actually.

"I know that you and Emily have something going on **.** It's obvious to anyone with eyes that you two like each other." She starts **.**

I shake my head in denial but before I can respond she cuts me off again.

"And I mean it's whatever, we all like to experiment and stuff, I mean look at Jenna, she's practically a dog in heat when she sees a pretty girl. But the point is, your different now, you have been for a while. Your going softer for this girl like your actually in love or something."

I flush bright red at her words and Mona narrows her eyes at me trying to decipher my response.

"Are you in love with her?"

I frown in thought. Am I in love with her? No. But could I be falling? Possible, yes **.**

"We're just seeing how things go." I say lamely.

Mona laughs and shakes her head. "This could go one of two ways Alison. You can date this girl and boost your popularity, I mean face it you two are the hottest girls in the school and if you're banging you literally just became everyone's wet dreams. Or you could keep this a secret and everything remains the same."

I frown. "Then What does it matter if I come out or not?" I asks in confusion.

"One means that your doing this for status. The other means your doing this because you really care about Emily and you don't want your popularity to ruin what you two have." Mona says and I can see the sincerity in her words. "Were you ever planning on broadcasting your relationship."

I frown and shake my head no **.**

"I didn't think so." Mona says with a small smile. "That means you really like her."

I shrug as a flush red. "I guess so."

Mona smirks. "Well it's about time that you admitted it."

"How long have you known?" I ask curiously.

"Since your brought her bowling with us **.** You were way to protective and got way to jealous when Jenna was all over her. I mean we've been friends for two years now **,** just because don't talk about this stuff doesn't mean I don't notice it." Mona says softly.

I look down, feeling guilty for keeping this a secret.

I know me and Mona aren't the type of friends that me and Emily started off as, but she does care about me in her own way. She's always looked out for me even if her methods of going about it pissed me off.

I know she has my back and maybe I should start doing the same for her.

"I'm sorry for not telling you." I say honestly.

Mona brightens at my apology. "Water under the bridge." She says giving me a hug before pulling back and walking towards the cafeteria. "By the way if your looking for Emily she's in the pool area. Has been since early this morning." Mona shoots me a wink before disappearing inside the doors.

The pool area huh?

I let out a sigh and match my way over there. She has some explaining to do.

Like why the hell has she been ignoring me.

When I enter pool room, I see Emily sitting at the edge of the pool, with her feet dangling in the water. She doesn't even look up at me.

What the hell did I do wrong?

I take a deep breath and walk closer to her. "Hey...I've been looking for you everywhere." I say with a small smile.

She finally looks up at me, her eyes roam my face like she's trying to read me. "Sorry. I needed to clear my head..." Emily says looking back towards the water.

I take off my shoes and sit next to her, dangling my feet in the water. "What's wrong Em?" I asks softly.

Emily lets out a deep breath and shakes her head. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." She brushes me off.

I frown. "Clearly something's wrong if your skipping your classes and sulking in here all day. Did I do something to make you upset?" I asks timidly.

Emily looks over at me. "I don't know what to say Alison. I mean I love being with you, you make me feel things that I only dreamed of..." she says and I can't stop the smile from splitting the middle of my face. "But then you come here and it's like you're a different person. You're meaner, manipulating, you're not the same person that I got to know...but then I think maybe you are that same person, maybe you're just hiding who you're truly are with me behind smiles and soft touches and I don't know what to do about that. Because I can't be with someone like that."

I swallow the lump in my throat **.**

"So what are you saying?" I asks nervously.

She sighs even deeper. "I don't know. I mean I want to try this but I don't know if I can." She gives me an apologetic look before starting to stand up. "I'm sorry." She mutters.

No!

She can't end this it hasn't even started yet!

"Wait..." I say grabbing her arm before she can move. "Why are you doing this?!" I asks almost hysterical now.

She gives me a sad look while shaking her head before pulling her hand arm out of my grasp. She turns to leave again, and I panic and push her into the pool. She breaks the surface with a resounding smack.

I jump in after her.

When she resurfaces, she splutters about trying to catch her breath.

"What the hell Ali..." she says trying to catch her breath.

I ignore her question and push her backwards into the water again, she goes under but she quickly recovers by floating back to the top. "You haven't even given me a chance to fix this! How am I supposed to show you I can change if you don't give me a chance?!" I say pushing her again. "It's not fair and you know it!"

"Ali!" Emily says trying to catch her breath at the same time as stop my advances on her. "Stop it!"

"Why should I? This is what you expect right? For me to be mean and evil...why should I stop now to prove you wrong." I say angrily pushing her again.

"Okay!" She exclaims loudly finally getting a hold of my hands and pulling me closer to her. "Okay. I get it! I'm sorry!" She yells gripping me tightly. "I'm sorry Okay **.** " She says softly this time. "I saw what happened in class today and I panicked. And instead of talking to you about it I took matters into my own hands...I'm sorry for thinking the worse of you." She mutters hopelessly before pulling me into a hug.

I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding and I rest my head on her shoulder, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. "Don't end this without giving me a chance." I plead softly.

I feel Emily release a shaky breath. "You scare me Ali..." she mutters softly.

I look up at her with sad and she gazes down at me with soft ones.

"I keep thinking that maybe if I find a reason to pull back now, you wouldn't be able to hurt me later down the road. But I'm wrong. You have the power now... because I care about you. A lot. and I don't want this to end...I just don't want to get hurt either." She pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear. "I'm sorry Okay?" She says sincerely.

I nod my head at her. "Okay. But please don't think the worst of me. At least give me a chance to make it right." I plead softly.

"Okay. I'll do better, only if your promise that you will." Emily says kissing my forehead.

"I promise." I whisper. I feel her exhale out a deep breath.

I lean up and kiss her onto softly, and soon we're both sinking underwater.

 **~x~X~x~**

 **All grammatical errors are mine. But please review and tell me what you think. It's picking up after this. Lots of secrets will be exposed, hearts will be broken and some mended. :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**You don't have to tell me how much I suck. I already know. Someone asked for some more fluff before the action picks up so here it is. I wanted to give you more insight in Emily's point of view so you can see the battle she's having with liking Alison as well.**

 **Alison Dilaurentis Must Die:**

 **Episode 10: I Still Get Jealous.**

 **Emily POV.**

I let out a deep groan as I rest my head against my locker as the bell sounds, signaling the six minute warning for class.

This week has already been very stressful and it's only Tuesday.

Yeah...it's that bad.

The weekend started off great. I went to the movies, swimming and lunch at the park.

All things that I love to do...

And those are all of the things that I did with Alison.

And the fact that I've enjoyed them even more this weekend with her company than I ever had by myself, is the most confusing thing I've ever been through **.**

And it all started with that stupid double date Thursday.

"So..." Lucas says, appearing on the side of me. "I have passes to see an early screening of Thor this Thursday, you down **?** " He asks excitedly **.**

"Uh..." I start before opening my locker **.** "I'll have to check my schedule but I'm sure I can swing it." I say giving him a small playful smirk.

Lucas lights up, and launches into some explanation about Thor and the gods, but as he talks something catches my attention over his shoulder.

Alison.

She's standing at her locker, swapping her books, a small frown on her face in concentration.

She's practically doing nothing and my heart stops in her presence.

The hummingbirds in my stomach starts again.

Now you can see why I've been so stressed lately.

I don't know how to stop myself from responding like this.

And I can't pin point when this feeling started.

I want to hold her hand, kiss her, hug her. Anything just to touch her, and I can't stop my thoughts.

I went from loathing to her, to tolerating her for our plan, to liking her, to...well like liking her. I feel like a traitor.

To who? I don't know.

On one hand you have Hanna and the girls counting on me to bring Alison down, and on the other you have Alison. And she's just...different from what I ever thought. And I like the person that I've grown to know.

But what do I do? This is not apart of the plan.

Yesterday I wanted to end it; but when I tried to walk away Alison stopped me **,** and just seeing the pain in her eyes from my words literally broke my heart. I couldn't do it.

I couldn't sleep last night because I know Ive gotten myself into a lot of trouble.

Like right now.

Just from standing here across the room and not even close to her, I can still **f** eel the effect that she's having on me.

When she kissed me Friday, it had been...

Well if I'm being honest with you, I've never felt anything like that in my entire **l** ife. It just...I didn't know what to expect from it. I knew I didn't want it to end, and when she asked to date me...well I knew I didn't want to say no to that either.

So of course I agreed.

And the second I did I felt the guilt hit me like a ton of bricks.

Because it all became real for me.

What I was doing was real...there was now real feelings involved. Including my own.

And I didn't realize how much I had actually started to like her as a person, or as more than one until her hand fit in mine and I knew I didn't want to let it go.

What does that make me?

Because I tried to be the good guy and call it off but the second she looked me in the eyes it scared the hell out me...and I knew that whatever I was feeling couldn't be pushed aside.

And I don't want too.

So what if I don't? Does that make me a bad person?

"Emily?" I hear Lucas call my attention back to him.

I shake my head to clear the fog in my head. "I'm sorry **,** what?"

"I said is everything okay? You seem a bit...out of it." Lucas asks with a concerned smile.

I clear my throat and nod my head. "Yeah I'm fine...I just sort of zoned out." I explain vaguely.

"Okay. Anything I can help with **?** " He offers genuinely.

I smile at him. He's always been such a good guy.

"No I'm fine. But thanks." I say turning to face him, giving him my undivided attention **.** "How about we meet for lunch today." I offer instead

He smirks and nods his head slowly. "Uh yeah...that'll be great." He replies, his tone laced with surprise at my suggestion.

My smile brightens but before I can say anything else three other people join us.

"Wassup Em?" Noel says walk up to me with Mona and Jenna on his side. We high five. **H** e then looks over to Lucas, he sizes him up before giving him a head nod.

Lucas on the other hand doesn't respond. He just looks as if he might faint.

"Hey Emily." Jenna says with her usual flirtatious smile. "We were just looking for you." She says standing to my right and into my personal space.

I let it go.

"Yeah we wanted to talk to you about tonight." Mona adds, with her usual snarky attitude. She then turns to Lucas giving him an unimpressed look. "Get lost Hermie!" She snarls.

That seems to jerk Lucas awake because he gives me a quick fleeting look. "Uh so I'll catch you later Em." Lucas says moving to flee, but I quickly grip him by the back of his neck pulling him back in place.

"His name is Lucas, and what ever you have to say to me you can say in front of him." I defend him.

He gives a nervous laugh. "That's not necessary—" He starts, but I tighten the grip on his neck and he shuts up **.**

Mona just rolls her eyes, Noel smirks at this and Jenna...well Jenna really isn't paying attention to them, she's to busy stroking my upper arm.

"Whatever **.** Well we were inviting you to a party tonight at Noel's cabin. It's kind of a tradition we have. Every first Tuesday of every month we throw a party there and get wasted, then just stay the night out there." Mona explains.

I frown in confusion. "But its a school night." I say lamely.

They all look at each other before bursting out laughing.

"So... We skip the next day. I'm sure you've skipped before." Noel says, giving me a curious look.

I swallow the lump in my throat before nodding my head. "Pft. Of course I have **.**.." I say. Thinking about the first time I skipped with Alison.

I see Lucas give me a confused judgmental look.

"Okay good. So we'll see you there?" Noel asks, humor still laced in his voice.

"Uh...yeah...but only if Lucas can come." This seems silence them all.

I hear Lucas's breath hitch.

Mona frowns in disgust. "Why?" Is all she asks.

I roll my eyes at her but don't respond.

Noel looks at Lucas studying him for a moment before his smirk comes back. "Sure he can come." He says a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Okay cool." I say with a beaming smile.

Mona shakes her head. "Alison will not like this."

I smile at that. Oh just let me deal with her.

"Well now that that's settled...See you later Emily." Noel says walking away with Mona and Jenna who I almost forgot was standing next to me following behind him.

"See you later Emily." Jenna says biting her lip seductively as she walks away.

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop a amused smile from bubbling up at her attempt of being sexy.

It's really not doing anything for me.

As soon as they're out of sight, Lucas pulls himself from my grasps. "What the hell are you doing Emily?!" He asks angrily.

"I'm getting you an invite to the popular table." I say like it's obvious.

"I don't _want_ to sit with them! Did you forget that I hate them?" Lucas asks incredulously.

I frown in thought. "I'm one of them remember?" I asks slightly hurt at his words.

He softens a bit. "I didn't mean you. Your an exception. You didn't give me swirlies and call me an hermaphrodite and get the entire lunchroom to throw food at me." Lucas explains sadly.

I let out a sigh.

Of course I'm an idiot.

I didn't realize that I was pushing him into a crowded space with all the people who's tortured him throughout high school.

"I'm sorry Lucas. I wasn't thinking." I say placing a hand on his shoulder. "But I promise that no matter what I have your back. I won't let anything bad happen at this party." I promise.

Lucas seems to absorb my words with consideration because he slowly nods his head in agreement. "Okay fine. But if something happens to me I'll never let you live this down." He says pointing a stern finger at me.

I smile and pat him lovingly on the back.

The bell sounds again and he walks away with a 'catch you later'.

I realize I'm late for my class so I quickly start making my way there, but as I pass the girls bathroom a hand reaches out and grabs me pulling me into the restroom.

What the fu—

Before I can scream a pair of lips silent me.

Under any other circumstances I would have freaked out but I happened to recognize the lips of the person they belong to.

I pull back after a moment and look down into her oceanic blue eyes.

"Took you long enough. I thought they would never shut up." Alison says with a smirk as she rests her arms loosely around my neck.

I smirk at that.

"Were you spying on me?" I asks teasingly placing my hands on her waist.

Alison rolls her eyes at me. "No. I just happened to be in the hallway when they walked up to you. And never you mind that, you're my girl—- I mean we're dating, I can spy on you if I want." She says tapping me on the nose.

I smile at her almost slip of the word girlfriend. The rest of her words just fly over my head.

"Well in that case..." I say with a shrug. She rolls her eyes again shaking her head at me, her smile never falters.

"And speaking of dating." She starts sweetly before she scowls at me and swats me on the shoulder. And not so gently either.

"Ow! What was that for?" I asks rubbing the afflicted spot.

"That's for letting Jenna rub against your arm." She says with an irritated tone while dropping her arms from around my neck and walking over to the bathroom mirror to make sure her lipstick isn't smudged from our kiss. "What the hell is her problem! Doesn't she know you don't want her? Either she's not getting the hint or your not telling her..." she says then gasps. "Oh my god your flirting back with her aren't you?!" She says angrily.

My eyes widen at her, and not because of her accusation but because of how Crazy she's being right now.

Is she jealous?

I bite my lip to stop the laugh from spilling out.

I can't believe she's jealous of Jenna of all people.

But she is hot when she gets all flustered.

"Now I'm going to have to punch that bitch in the face because she think she can have you." Alison continues on angrily as she takes out her make-up bag. "And then I'll have to slap you for letting her think she can have you." As she says this she applies eyeliner in the mirror, she has to stand on her tip-toes to get a better look at herself.

I smirk as I walk over and stand directly behind her placing my hands on her hips. "I don't flirt with her. Half the time I don't even know that she's there." I say reassuringly. "And please don't slap me or her...it'll cause a scene." I finish placing a kiss on her shoulder.

I can see her blush in the mirror at our close proximity but she tries to keep her anger intact. "I'll give you a scene." She mutters.

I pull her back flush against my front and she gasps. "You have nothing to worry about. The only girl I ever want is you."

And the hummingbirds hit backflips at the truth in my words.

God why is she having this affect on me.

Alison just nods her head as she bites her bottom lip. "So what were they talking to you about?"

"Oh nothing...Just inviting me to Noel's party tonight." I say casually with a shrug.

Her eyes lights up a bit. "Are you coming?" She asks hopefully.

"Do you want me to come?" I asks teasingly.

"Of course." She says resting her head back against my shoulder.

I wrap her fully in my arms as we sway back and forth to nonexistent music.

The hummingbirds have escaped my tummy and are now gradually moving throughout my body, setting my nerve endings to blaze.

"Well then I'll be there." I say kissing her neck this time. She smiles at this and lets out a content sigh. "But I hope you don't mind that I'm bringing a friend." I throw in casually.

Alison frowns curiously. "Who?!" She asks spinning out of my arms to stare at me.

"Lucas." I say with a shrug.

Alison frown stays in tact but I can see her shoulders sag with relief. "I'm not sure if that's really his scene." She says with an apprehensive look.

I frown in curiosity but shrug casually. "It's not really my scene either..." I trail off.

Alison frown drops. "Yeah but your popular now, you have to be there." She says taking my hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. "And besides, you'll be with me all night anyways right?" She asks suggestively.

I smirk at her and shrug again. "Maybe..." I start. "I mean there are a lot of people fighting to be in presence tonight." I lie teasingly.

Alison frowns again. "You seriously want me to slap you?" She asks pulling her hand away from mine.

I let out a laugh before leaning in and pecking her on the lips, I feel her relax again. "I'm kidding, of course I'll only want to be around you. But I still think that Lucas will have fun at the party, all he needs is a certain Blond beauty to back him and make sure he's untouchable." I say moving closer and placing my hands on her waist.

I see her apprehension so I lean in and kiss her lightly on the neck.

Alison lets out a sigh. "Okay fine." She mutters distracted by my ministrations.

I smirk victoriously. "Thank you babe." I say kissing my way from her neck up to her lips.

I see Alison let out a smirk of her own. "Babe?" She questions teasingly.

My smile turns genuine and I give her shrug in response. "We missed third period." I say just as the bell rings stepping away from her.

Alison rolls her eyes and sighs before her expression turns serious. "You like me?" She asks timidly taking another step away from me.

I frown at her question, confused as to why she's asking me.

"Of course I like you...I wouldn't be dating you if I didn't." I say with a laugh.

But Alison doesn't smile nor does she laugh along with me. If anything her expression becomes more serious.

"I mean like me like me? Because I think I'm starting to like you a lot, and I guess I'm just nervous that I might like you more than you like me." Alison confesses and I can see the vulnerability practically oozing out of her.

I swallow the lump in my throat before taking a step towards her.

Because to be honest I have no idea what to say because I don't have the faintest idea how I feel about her. Or why it's so confusing.

So I can't tell her if I like her just as much as she likes me, all I can say is that the last thing I knew was I was crushing on her now, and I know it's extended beyond that, I just don't know into what.

And to make it worse I'm stuck, I know have these damn birds floating around my stomach and it's just as distracting as the way Alison is staring at me expectantly right now, waiting for my answer.

Her beauty really does astound me. No matter how I've felt about her in the past I know that's the one thing I couldn't take from her, no matter how hard I tried (The Cover Girl Scandal).

I take another step towards her until I'm flushed up against her.

"You're so beautiful...you know that." I say resting my hand on her cheek.

Alison blushes as she looks away from me. "Of course I know that." She says in her usual arrogant tone, and if it wasn't for the blush covering her cheeks I wouldn't have believed my words had any affect on her.

I smile and kiss her softly on the lips.

She reaches her hand up to cover mine as she slowly pulls away from the kiss and end up in some weird staring contest.

"But I don't hold a candle to you." She breathes out quietly.

Now it's my turn to blush.

Alison smiles genuinely before walking over to the sink again, to stuff her makeup into her purse before looking in the mirror one last time, just as a group of freshman girls enters the bathroom giggling and shoving each other.

They immediately freeze when they see me and Alison, the look on their faces resembling something akin to horror.

They give me brief look, but for the most part their eyes are resting on Alison, as if they're waiting on her response to them entering the bathroom.

But of course Alison doesn't even notice their presence, but still like trained soldiers they stand there until she does.

I clear my throat loudly attempting to catch Alison's attention, so she can notice the girl's presence.

I see Alison smirk through the mirror as she stares down at her her purse. "Yes Em?" She asks amusement laced in her voice, as she finally looks up to address me. That's when she spots the girls. Her smirk drops from her face and she schools her features to turn neutral.

The girls stand there trembling in fear.

Alison glares slightly before opening her mouth to say something to them, but she looks at my expression and her glare drops away. "Ladies." She addresses them curtly.

They seem to be stuck in there spot but both squeak out a 'Hi'.

"Enjoy the restroom." Alison says teasingly with a smirk. She collects her belongings and starts out of the bathroom, as she passes the girls she looks down at their shoes. "Nice stems." She compliments one of the girls.

As Alison makes her way out of the bathroom walking right pass me, I watch as the girl nearly hyperventilate.

"Oh my god! Did you hear that? Alison likes my shoes." The girl makes her way to the mirror. "I'm never taking these off." She mutters.

The door closes so I'm cut off from the rest of their conversation but I'm sure most of it revolved around Alison.

As we make our way down the hallway, Alison remains three paces a head of me. I take this time to admire her...form?

What's very unsettling to me is how lucky I feel right now, even though I know I don't deserve this feeling at all.

She's so fucking perfect.

And so different from what everyone would think about her.

But maybe so am I.

I mean look at what I'm doing...and now feelings are involved. This entire thing has become all tangled up and I'm the knot in the center.

I started this mess.

Fuck this is Crazy.

Alison turns around with a raised eyebrow and a playful grin on her face. "Are you checking me out?" She asks playfully.

I smirk and shrug nonchalantly. "Maybe..." I say playfully.

Alison blushes and shakes her head at me. But she slows her pace down so I can walk in stride with her. "Lets skip fourth period and head up stairs to your special place."

I frown. "I don't know...I mean I already missed third period, maybe I should go to fourth." I say apprehensively.

"We can make out." She suggests.

My eyes widen at her suggestion. "Uh...I mean, who needs math anyways..." I stutter out.

Alison laughs and shakes her head at me before grabbing my hand and pulling me along.

~x~X~x~ After School~x~X~x~

Okay so school wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

After I left my secret hide out with Alison I had lunch with Lucas. It was fun to catch up with him. And as far as my agreement with Alison goes regarding Lucas, she made a big deal of walking past and greeting Lucas loud enough so all the kids in the lunchroom would know he was now officially off limits when it came to bullying.

I don't know who was more shocked them or Lucas, who nearly peed his pants.

After that the rest of the day went by pretty quickly.

I shut my locker with my gym bag in hand and turn to see Aria standing right in front of me.

I give her a 'what the fuck' look. "Aria—" I start But she cuts me off.

"We need to talk." Aria says a little frantically.

I look around anxiously at all of the people in the hall who are currently giving us curious stares.

"Right here?" I asks giving her another pointed look.

Aria finally seems to catch on as she looks around the crowded hallway. She shakes her head. "Right." She says defeatedly. "Maybe not right here but maybe somewhere more private."

I glance around again before nodding my head. "Okay. I know a place." I say taking her hand and leading her through the crowd towards my special spot.

When we get there Aria takes a moment to admire the room, and I fling my bag down against the wall.

"Aria. I thought we agreed no contact in school?" I ask with a frown.

Aria nods her head in agreement. "I know. But we've been worried about you. You've missed two meetings and you haven't been returning our text or phone calls." She says folding her arms across her chest accusingly.

I look away from her sheepishly. "I know. I'm sorry. I've just been...sorting through some stuff." I say honestly. Folding my arms across my chest as well, but more in a defensive stance.

Aria frowns at my words. I watch as the gears turn in her head, as she tries to piece together what I'm saying. "Is this because of Alison?" She asks.

I swallow the lump in my throat and look down.

"Is this because of what happened last Thursday on that double date? Because if I said something that confused you and your feelings towards Alison I'm sorry." Aria says.

I don't respond to that.

"I don't know what you're talking about?"

Aria gives me a non-believing look. "Look Emily you may not be ready to talk about it but I'm here if you need too."

I study Aria for a second and her expression never wavers and I can see the sincerity in her eyes.

I walk over and lean against the wall.

"There is a lot going on in my head regarding Alison, and I don't know what to do. So I was avoiding you guys...but only until I figured it out." I say pathetically. "I'm sorry." I mutter.

I slide down the wall slowly, dropping my head heavily against it.

Aria walks over and sits next to me. "You like her, don't you?" She asks knowingly.

I scoff out a laugh and shake my head. "I don't know what I feel. I mean it could all just be a crush, or infatuation. Lord knows when this entire situation is screwed up. I went in there with the pretense of getting even and now I'm making out with her and there's feelings involved, especially on her end. I guess I'm just confused." I finalize.

Aria nods her head in understanding.

"It's okay if you like her." Aria says giving me a small smile.

I don't respond right away. I toss her words around in my head, allowing my brain and heart to debate the weight of those words. Finally I shake my head in disagreement. "Is it okay though." I state more than ask.

Because it's not okay. None of this is okay.

Aria eyes soften with sympathy and she places her arm around my shoulder for comfort.

"At the end of this, one of us is going to

get hurt. And I've been building these fool proof plans to make sure it's her, and now...well now I'm hoping that I take the brunt end of things." I admit.

Aria frowns at this. I take it me crushing on Alison wasn't apart of the plan and now I feel a rush of guilt flood through my body **.**

"Yo **u** don't have to continue this Emily. You can walk away right now before anyone gets hurt. I won't— we won't be mad at you. I understand." Aria says warmly. She drops her arm from around my shoulder and takes my hand, giving it a small squeeze.

"I doubt Hanna will see it that way." I say, giving her hand a squeeze back.

Aria smiles ruefully. "Yeah, well...she'll have to get over it." She says bumping my shoulder with her own **.**

I give a small smile of appreciation. "Thank you Aria." I say sincerely.

I take a moment to actually toss around the possibility of backing out of our deal in my head. There's pros and cons to both. I mean if I quit now, what will happen? Do I just pretend that I was never involved with this plan and watch as Hanna recruits some other unsuspecting soul and use them to bring down Alison? That's what Shana and Sydney did wasn't it? They act as if they have no knowledge of what I'm here to do or what Hanna and the girls are planning and they seem to be comfortable in their lives at the popular table.

But that's not something I would want. The entire time I'd be consumed by guilt and what, am I supposed to just continue on with Alison like I didn't plan on ripping her world right from under her in the beginning of our friendship?

But then what's the damn alternative? Me staying apart of this bet? Ruining Alison's life than moving on myself? And then what happens to all of these new found feelings I'm having for her? Am I supposed to just push them aside and finish the job? Not only will I hurt her but I'll hurt myself and I don't want that either.

So I guess there's option number three. Which will leave both of us unharmed. I'll just end this thing with Alison and go back to my old life. That way Alison doesn't find out about the bet and I save me and Alison from heartbreak.

That's the only option.

So there...it's decided...tonight at be party I'll end things with Alison.

I look over to see Aria staring at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer a question she apparently asked.

"Are you Okay **?** " Aria asks.

I frown in determination and nod my head. "Yeah...I will be." I say pushing myself off the ground to stand up. "Tonight I'm going to end things with Alison **,** and this thing between us stays between us." I announce , then I look down giving Aria and sympathetic look **.** "I'm sorry if I disappointed you like the rest of them. But I don't want to be apart of the popular group either, if it make any difference I think I just want to go back to being myself." I say sheepishly **.**

Aria then stands as-well giving me a small genuine smile. "I'm not disappointed. I

Figured you were to good of a person to go though with this. And I hope in the end we can remain friends." She says grabbing my hand and giving it another squeeze before she turns to leave, but then pauses at the door. "Do you want to talk to the girls or should I?" She asks.

I take a deep breath before biting my lip in concentration. "I'll do it. Tomorrow at lunch." I say

Aria nods her head and gives me an encouraging smile as she disappears through the door.

I take a moment to take a deep breath before grabbing my bag and leaving the room, making sure to lock the door

behind me.

x~X~x~ Later that night ~x~X~x~

By the time I made it home, tossed my backpack on my bed and readying myself for tonight, I had already been over my speech in my head.

And by speech I mean the break up speech I'm saying to her **.**

This would have been the second time I've tried this with her and we all know the first time didn't go so well.

I mean she practically tried to drown me.

I swallow the lump in my throat as I finish applying mascara to my eyelash.

I give myself a once over at my choice of outfit. Black leather skinny jeans, a **r** ed long sleeved designer shirt.

So this is it.

It's now or never.

I know I should feel some sense of relief over ending all of this, but for some odd reason all I feel is regret. Fear. Sorrow. Disappointment **?**

Before I can dive more into my emotions I hear my mom knock on the door before she enters.

"Emmy honey, you have a friend at the door. His name is Lucas...?" She says with hesitation.

I give her a small smile of appreciation before nodding. "Okay. I'll be down in a moment." I says dismissively.

My mom frowns a little as she pushed the door open more. "Are you Okay sweetheart?" She asks **.**

I contemplate the answer for a moment before nodding my head. "Yeah mom, thank you **.** " I says sincerely.

She studies me for a moment than opens her mouth like she's about to say something before she gives me a tight lipped smile and leaving out the door **.**

I take a deep breath and grab my jacket before making my way down stairs. At the bottom I see a nervous Lucas shifting from foot to foot, looking like at any moment he might bolt.

He notices me walking down the stairs and looks up giving me a small smile **.** "Hey Em." Lucas says before looking me up and down. "You look...Uh **.**..wow." He compliments with a small smile **.**

I blush slightly, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "Thank you...and you look..." I trail off looking him up and down **.**

I take in his outfit. He's wearing regular blue jeans, and a button up light blue shirt with a tie and a suit jacket. I frown at his wardrobe choice.

"Like your going to a Sadie's Hopkins dance." I compliment/insult.

Lucas looks down at his clothes with a frown. "You don't like it?" He asks confused.

"No...I love it, but don't you think it's a little...over the top for where we're going?" I asks.

His frown deepens.

I give him a small smile. "How about this..." I say before stepping forward and taking the tie from around his neck. I unbutton the first three buttons of his shirt and take the suit jacket off of him before untucking his shirt, then taking the ends of his sleeves and rolling them up. I step back to examine my work, I tilt my head to the side then step toward again messing up his hair, giving it a more natural look.

There, that's better.

I give him an approved smile before tossing his things into his hands. "See that's better." I say.

Lucas just rolls his eyes but u can still see the smile fighting to split his face **.**

"Are you ready to go now?" He asks

I smile incouragingly. "Yeah, lets go." I say excitedly before opening the door. "Okay mom I left the address and emergency contact on the fridge I'm staying the night with Alison and I'll go to school from there." I announce.

My mom appears in the hallway. "And you're sure that Alison's mom is okay with you staying there on a school night?" She asks skeptically.

I force a convincing smile. "Of course mom."

She still looks wary but I can see her relenting. "Okay. Well have fun and make sure your coming in at a decent hour. Just because your not home doesn't mean the rules don't apply." She warns.

I laugh and nod my head. "Okay mom. Bye." I say wiggling my fingers before disappearing out the door with Lucas right behind me.

We walk down the stairs in stride. "Who knew Emily Fields could be such a bad ass." Lucas teases.

I nudge him with my shoulder and we both let out laughs.

"Come on we're more than fashionably late." I rush along as we both make our way to Lucas's Car.

~x~X~x~ Noel's Cabin ~x~X~x~

We arrived at Noel's cabin much later than I expected.

Mostly because Lucas kept stopping the car and turning around.

His nerves were getting the best of him.

We only made it here because I kicked him out of the drivers seat.

I pull the car into an available parking spot and kill the engine. I take a deep breath before I look over to Lucas to see him gripping the arm rest in fear.

"Okay lets just get this over with." I say prying his hand off the arm rest and giving it a light squeeze. "Remember I got your back." I say with a reassuring smile.

I can see his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallows hard. He gives a small head nod then follows my lead as I get out of the car.

I push Lucas along as he attempts to take his time, but it's a short walk from my car to the cabin so before we can blink we're knocking on the door.

I realize that's probably a dumb idea seeing as though they're more than likely not to hear me, with the music turned to the max inside the cabin.

But shockingly it opens fairly quickly after my first knock, presenting me with a smirking Noah.

"You made it." He says smugly holding the door open for us to enter.

"You sound surprised." I say walking past him, Lucas right on my heel.

He chuckles before handing me a red solo cup, I shake my head in decline so he turns and shoves it into Lucas's hand. "Drink up." He says with a casual wink towards Lucas.

I watch Lucas sniff the cup and grimace before taking a small sip.

I bite my lip to contain my smile. Probably the same reaction to my first taste of alcohol.

"Well the festivities are in full in affect. The lakes out back if you wanna swim, hopefully in your birthday suit..." Noel says looking me up and down suggestively. I roll my eyes at him and he laughs. "Or you can mingle. Drinks are in the kitchen, dance floor is in the living room, and we're playing games in the basement. That's where I'll be if you want to come join a game of spin the bottle." He explains with a wink. "Oh and upstairs are the bedrooms, if you decide to take one of these lucky ladies to bed tonight." He says wistfully before someone else comes over grabbing his attention.

I take that time to grab Lucas's arm and pull him further into the crowd.

Half the crowd I recognize from school and the other half just seems familiar from the last party I came to. So I'm guessing that it's popular kids from other schools as well.

"Emily you made it!" I hear a voice squeak out from behind me. I turn to see Jenna and Shana making their way over to me.

I give a tight lipped smile as she pulls me into a bone crushing hug. "Yeah...I made it." I say with less enthusiasm than I meant to.

But Jenna doesn't seem to notice. She pulls back, but not far enough because she's still in personal space, and I can smell the liquor on her breath. I'm guessing she's had way to many. I look to Shana for help but she just shrugs with a small smile.

Great.

Jenna looks me up and down hungrily while gripping my arms. "You look so... fuck-able." She breathes out biting her bottom lip.

Oh-Kay.

"Uh..." I mutter nervously looking around not knowing how to get out of this situation.

"Okay, Jenna." Shana steps in grabbing her by the shoulder. "Lets go get you some water." She says giving me a apologetic smile while dragging Jenna away.

"Will you save me a dance Emily?" Jenna asks as she's being dragged away with a fight.

I give a slight head nod hoping that it'll help move her along and away from me.

When she's out of site I release a deep breath that I'm holding.

I look back to see Lucas giving me an amused look. "What?" I asks rolling my eyes at him.

"Oh nothing." He says casually, but that smile never leaves his face. "It's just so cool to see all these people fawning over you, and your acting like it's no big deal." He says taking another sip from his cup.

I roll my eyes again. "They only like me because of this make-over, if it wasn't for that, then they wouldn't even glance at me." I admit honestly.

Lucas gives me a sympathetic smile before shrugging. "Still...it has to be awesome to have the entire popular table taking numbers just to talk to you." He says.

I smirk at him.

"I guess it's kind of cool." I say with a wink before wrapping my arm around him and guiding him further into the party towards the kitchen.

I glance around at the kids in the house, some dancing, some talking animatedly to their groups of friends, and then other casually drinking and watching the scenes around them. But they all look like they belong.

It's sort of poetic how much they all fit in this big group of popular kids.

I take in their various expressions, ranging from bored, semi interested, smiling, laughing.

And then I pause when one face in particular catches my eye.

I watch as she tosses her head back in laughter at whatever the people around her are saying.

I watch as the crowd fights for her attention and how she gives them equal amount of time to entertain her and they all eat up the seconds they can get.

Then she turns and looks at me. I can see the small sparkle in her eye when she catches my gaze. She bites her lip shyly before turning away from me to continue her conversation.

"Suddenly I'm feeling thirsty." I say guiding Lucas into the kitchen where Alison is sitting on the counter.

When we enter everyone turns to us, many of them sing their hellos to me and give surprised but welcoming looks towards Lucas.

"Hey guys." I say walking casually over towards the alcohol.

"You're cutting it pretty close on the fashionably late thing aren't you Em." Alison says with a teasing look in her eyes.

I smirk at this but break eye contact with her. "I've always been bad at managing time. Just today I missed two classes." I say pouring myself a drink.

Alison tilts her head curiously. "Hmm two classes? Even I'm not that careless." She lies easily.

I take a sip of the alcohol and will myself not to wince at it's strong taste. "Not careless. Just something more important caught my attention." I say discreetly looking her up and down.

Alison cheeks turns red and she bites her lower lip softly looking away from me.

I turn my head to stop the chuckle threatening to leave my mouth.

Everyone else doesn't seem to notice the meaning behind my words as the all carry on with their conversation, except this time Alison seems less invested in what's going on around her as her eyes keep looking over towards me casually.

I look behind me to see Lucas leaning casually against the counter drinking from his slowly, as he looks around the room.

This is the most relaxed I've ever seen him.

Must be the effects of the alcohol.

I set my up on the counter and make another drink for Lucas. When I hand it to him, he takes it with grace shooting me a small smile of appreciation.

When I turn back to grab my drink, it's missing from its spot, and it's held in the hands of a blonde standing on the side of me.

And by a blonde, I mean one of thee hottest blondes at school. Samara Cook, the head cheerleader at Rosewood High.

Samara gives me a smirk as she hands my cup over to me.

"Thank you." I say blushing slightly as I take a big gulp from my cup.

"You're welcome." Samara says with a sly grin.

I try to maintain my dignity as I avert my eye contact. But I can still feel her eyes on me.

"So Emily, right?" **S** amara confirms as she leans back against the counter.

"Uh Yeah **.**..." I say awkwardly. "Samara yes?" I confirm back as a formality.

She smirks and nods her head. "You know It's funny, I've seen you around school and I've seen you sitting with the popular table, I've even watched some of your swim meets. But I've never talked to you before." She observes.

I offer her shrug. "It's a big school, I'm sure you've had better people to talk to." I say before taking a sip from my cup.

Samara looks me up and down appraisingly. "I doubt that..."

I choke on my drink a little.

Holy shit! Is she flirting with me?

Samara smirks at my reaction and steps closer to me, if only by a centimeter so no one would notice.

"Is there something wrong with your drink?" She asks innocently.

"Uh no...t-there's nothing wrong." I clear my throat awkwardly before frowning then downing what's left of that cup.

Her smile gets even bigger. "Good." She says and we make eye contact for a brief but awakened moment, before she lets out small laugh and I can't help but laugh as well.

What? She had a very infectious laugh.

"So, what made you decide to come tonight?" She asks tilting her head to the side.

I shrug. "Oh...you know...just in the neighborhood." I say with a teasing smile.

Samara bites her lip to fight the smile breaking out on her face. "Well I'm glad you came."

Eye quirk my eyebrow up at her challengingly. "Oh yeah?" I asks.

Samara moves closer. "Yeah..." she says her voice dropping in octave.

Okay challenge excepted.

"I think I am too." I say with a smile.

Samara blushes and looks away.

Man this flirting stuff is easy.

If only I knew how to do this back then, maybe I wouldn't have had my first date at 16 years old.

After that me and Samara make small talk about random stuff. It's only during a break in our conversation when someone walks up to asks Samara a question that I notice Alison glaring holes through me.

I gulp loudly at her immobilizing stare.

Holy shit, that girl can set someone on fire with the heat coming from her eyes.

And when I mean someone...I mean me.

What did I do to warrant that look?

Before I can approach her to asks what's wrong Noah walks in with a Mona under his arm. "Hey guys, we're about to get a game of spin the bottle going down stairs. Any of you want in?" He asks before looking over at me wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I roll my eyes at him before shaking me head.

He smirks and turns to the rest of the group who's already packing up there things to follow him to the basement.

I look to Alison but she's already sliding down off the counter and cutting me a look that chills me to the bones as she follows behind Mona.

Fuck.

I'm going to pay for something later.

"Meet you down there?" Samara asks as she slowly follows the crowd. I nod my head in conformation and she smiles even brighter before disappearing.

I turn to Lucas to see him starring like a deer caught in head lights.

"What's wrong? Are you not coming?" I asks him.

He gives me a look before shaking his head. "I don't really think that's my scene. And besides I'm sure there's going to be a bunch of disappointed popular kids when they land on me."

I rest my hand sympathetically on his shoulder. "Lucas, before I got this makeover those same popular kids were the same people who over looked me and thought that I was lower than dirt. But with a little shoe polish, I'm considered just as pretty as them." I start to explain. "But look at you, they welcomed you to the party willingly and everyone's already warmed up to you and they haven't even met the real Lucas yet." I say with a smile.

Lucas frowns at my statements." What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying...that everyone has their ugly duckling moments, it doesn't always have to be physical. I think your very handsome but I also think you hide yourself away. Maybe it's time to come out your shell and release those clumsy awkward feathers. Show the world how awesome you are." I say nudging him playfully.

Lucas smiles at me before nodding his head at my words.

"Now enough pep talk. Lets go make out with popular kids." I say playfully taking his hand in mine, pulling him along.

Lucas downs his cup before tossing it behind himself dramatically.

When we enter the basement everyone's already sitting in a circle playing the game. Samara immediately spits me and pulls me into the empty spot next to her. Lucas takes the spot besides Sydney.

Sydney gives him a once over before turning away from him unimpressed. I can see the self-conscious look cross his features so i give him a thumbs up hoping that'll calm him down.

I look around the circle at all of the familiar and not so familiar faces but my eyes land on one person in particular.

Alison.

She's not even looking at me. Instead she's looking purposefully at everyone but me.

I try to catch her eye but it's with no success.

Yup I screwed up.

"Alright guys." Noel says catching our attention. "My party, so I get first spin." He says leaning into the circle and spinning the bottle. And funny enough he lands on Mona who looks like she wants to throw up. Noel smirks at her response. "Ah come on baby you know you can't resist these lips." He jokes before leaning over and kissing her.

After it's over people are laughing and cheering and Mona makes a show of wiping her lips off. Noel just winks.

Sydney spins next and she lands surprisingly on Lucas, who looks like he just saw a ghost. Sydney sighs loudly before turning to face him. "Keep your tongue in your mouth! Got it?" She warns him and he nods his head rapidly in understanding.

When they kiss it's kind of comical because Lucas looks like he has no idea what's he's doing and Sydney looks like she's doing most of the work. But after a moment he seems to relax and they start making out heavily.

A little too heavily.

Okay...this is awkward now.

"Uh save some of his spit for his own throat Sydney." Mona says in a controlled bored voice.

They spring apart both sporting red cheeks. Sydney runs a hand through her hair and Lucas clears his throat uncomfortably.

I smirk at Lucas giving him a subtle thumbs up.

A few more rounds go on and I'm happy to say a bottle has yet to spin on me. Although a few of them have been close and when the bottle turned elsewhere at the last minute I did hear a few groans of disappointment. None coming from me of course.

Well I have been a little disappointed.

Well more like a lot **.**

So far three people have landed on Alison.

THREE!

I've had to watch her kiss three people and it's been driving me fucking mad!

It's been nothing more than a brief make-out with no tongue but every time she pulls away she bite seductively in their bottom lips.

I want to rip their lips off.

Finally the bottle is handed to me and it's my turn.

I know we've been keeping this thing a secret but I'm hoping that the bottle lands on Alison. I haven't kissed her sense this morning and I'm dying to taste her lips.

Or will she taste like three other people?

Either way I'm marking my territory.

I put the bottle in the middle and give it a hard spin.

And it lands on a blonde alright...but not the blonde I was hoping for.

Samara smirks at me. "Looks like I get to make-out with the newbie." She says with a glint in her eyes.

I hear wolf whistles all around and sounds of encouragement. But what I feel is a heated glare aimed at the side of my face.

I turn to make eye contact with Alison **.** Her look ranges from anger to sadness, but before I can protest Samara is grabbing the side of my face and pulling me into a deep kiss.

And let me tell you, her lips are wonderfully soft, and based on the way she was moving her mouth against mine you can tell she's an experienced kisser. It's quite delicious. But her lips do nothing for me, all they do is make miss another blondes lips.

"Maybe you two should get a room **!** " I hear a voice announce which causes me to pull back from Samara.

The room lets out disappointed groans and I can see the same disappointment etched on Samara's face from me breaking the kiss.

I give her a forced smile as I turn to face the person of the voice.

Alison looks livid.

"Why'd you interrupt Alison, it was just getting good!" Some dumb football jock asks.

Alison glares at him next. "Well some of us wanted to finish the game not watch your little hard-on grow"

The jock covers his pants while everyone in the circle just laughs.

"You better be careful Alison, someone might think your jealous." Noel says with a knowing smirk which causes everyone to "Oooo."

Alison frowns at him. "Fine let them finish drowning each other with their tongues. I have better things to do than to sit here with a bunch of virgin boys and watch." She says standing up and storming off.

Everyone calls after her protesting her departure. "Well there goes the hottest girl in the circle." a senior named Darren says. A chorus of "shut ups" ring out as a girl next to him slaps him in the chest.

Samara turns to look at me with a smile. "So, want to finish making out?" She asks casually.

I swallow. "You know I would, but there's something I need to do." I say standing up ignoring the confused look she's sporting.

I need to find Alison.

I quickly exit the basement and back upstairs to the main party floor.

The crowd has grown, so I'm sure **m** y chances of finding Alison is now slimmer than before **,** but that doesn't stop me from looking.

I survey the crowd before my eyes land on a familiar face. I approach cautiously. "Hey Maya..." I say timidly **.**

Maya's eyes widen when she takes in my appearance. "Emily?! What a surprise..." **s** he says.

I purse my lips together and nod my head. "Perks of being apart of the in **-** crowd I guess..." I joke but she only gives me a strained smile. I let out a sigh and run my hand through my hair. "Look about the other night.." I start but am immediately cut off.

"Stop, please don't apologize. I'm just glad that you told me the truth before you led me on. Though I've never been dumped through text message before, I guess it was bound to happen at some point in time, I'm just glad it happened with a pretty girl such as yourself." She jokes back to lighten the mood. But her smile is more genuine than before and I can tell she's not upset with me.

I give her an appreciative smile. "Thank you Maya. And I know this is cliche of me but I would really like to try to be friends with you **.** Your an amazing person and I wouldn't want to lose you in my life." I admit honestly.

Maya's smile brightens. "I would love that **.**...friend **.** " She says jokingly, before sticking her hand out for me to shake.

I smirk and shake her hand before using it to pull her in closer to me so I can ask her my next question without yelling or being overheard by the partygoers. "I have a weird question to ask you, have you seen Alison?" I asks

She pulls back with a frown in concentration. "I'm sure I just saw her disappear up stairs." She motions towards the stairs.

 **I** look back at the stairs before turning to face her again. "Thanks Maya." I say as I start backing away from her. "I'll text you and maybe we can meet up sometime this week..." I suggest before disappearing up the stairs.

When I get there, I noticed there's like six doors.

I begin to check every single last one of them.

And it's safe to say Alison isn't in none of them, and thank god for that. I've just walked in on a lot of sexual encounters. Pissed off a lot of horny teens.

If they didn't want people to enter maybe they should put a sock on the door **.** Or better yet lock it.

Isn't that how those things work at parties.

I finally get to the last door, it's smaller than the rest so I'm assuming this is the bathroom. After bursting through five doors in a row, I've finally learned my lesson and decide to knock.

"Go away." Is the immediate reply I get. But I recognized that voice and it's just the person I'm looking for.

"Alison, it's me Emily, please open up..." I yell through the door **,** hoping by some miracle she heard me over the base of the music from down stairs.

Just then the door swings open and Alison is standing there with the nastiest scowl on her face that I've ever seen her direct at someone. It almost causes me to take a step back, but then I see the tear streaks, that she so desperately tried to hide, and that causes me to take a step forward.

"I said go away." She says through clinched teeth before attempting to swing the door closed.

I quickly step forward, blocking the door with my hand. "Ali—" I start.

Alison looks at me with wide wild eyes. "Are you deaf?! I said go away Emily." She says attempting to push the door closed even more.

"No Alison! Not until you talk to me!" I say pushing my way into the bathroom then shutting the door behind me. "What did I do? Why do you hate me all of a sudden?" I asks confused.

Alison stares at me like I've lost my mind as she shakes her head. "You're kissing right?" She asks and when I fail to respond she scoffs out a humorless laugh "Are you stupid?! I just watched you flirt with her all night and your asking me why I'm pissed?!"

Flirt with who?

I think my confused look gives away the question I'm about to asks because Alison glare deepens.

"Are we gonna pretend you weren't down there flirting with Samara, I already have to fight for your affection with Jenna and now her!...damnit, you even kissed her for god sakes!" She says as she starts pacing the floor.

I frown. "Samara...I wasn't flir—" I pause when I realize that Samara was flirting with me. But I didn't kiss her because I wanted to it was apart of the game. "We were playing a game Alison, what did you want me to do? Turn her down in the middle of it? You don't think that would have looked a little suspicious, and besides you kissed three other people and you don't see me throwing a hissy fit over it." I defend back.

But maybe I shouldn't have said those exact words.

Alison back straightens and her eyes become a little cold. "Get out!" She says evenly.

My defense is down and I'm immediately walking towards her. "Ali—"

She shoves me back. "Get out Emily. I don't want to see your stupid face anymore."

Ouch.

"Oh yeah, if it's so stupid, then how come every girl down there wants to shove their face in mine?" I asks. I immediately regret my words.

God, could I get anymore stupid.

"Alison I didn't mean that—" the shove I get next was well deserved.

"Fuck you Emily! Just fuck you!" Alison screams as she shoves me again, but I quickly grab her arms to stop the other hits from coming.

"Alison stop it! I'm sorry Okay! I didn't mean that!" I say as I wrap my arms around hers.

Alison struggles in my arms before she realizes that she stands no chance of getting out of them if she continues to put up a fight, so she slowly relaxes, but I can tell from her breathing pattern that she's the furthest thing from calm.

"I didn't mean that Alison." I start gently as I release her from my grasp. "I didn't mean those words. We're both angry, maybe we need to take a step back and evaluate the next thing that comes out of our mouths..." I say cautiously.

"Screw you Em! If you want to go out and be with other girls than don't waste my time. I'm not competing over you, and I refuse to play your mind games. One minute you like me than the next your all over some bimbo blonde and expect me to just sit back and watch." Her anger breaks for a second in her speech and I watch as tears form in her eyes. She looks so vulnerable. "I don't—" She starts before her resolve is back up and her glare is back. "Just get out and leave me alone..." she says turning away from me to face the sink.

"Ali I—" I start but cut myself off.

This is it, my moment to walk away and end things between us. And it's so perfect I don't even have to do all the breaking, she just did it for me.

There. Now I can leave this room, grab Lucas, head home and never speak to her or the popular kids again. When they asks what happened, I'll just say difference of interest.

Plan settled.

This was easier than I thought.

I swallow the lump in my throat. "Fine, if that's what you want." I say turning and grabbing the door knob.

But right before I leave I take one last look at her, I can see her reflection in the mirror.

She has tears rolling down her cheeks and she's trying her best not to control them but after a moment she stops trying.

I start to open the door but something inside me stops.

Emily what are you doing?

Just leave!

This is your opportunity! Go!

I drop my head against the door and let out a heavy sigh.

Lord have mercy on me.

I let go of the door knob and turn around to face her. Alison looks up at me confused as she notice my abrupt movement. Before she can ask 'what the hell I'm doing', (because let's face it I don't even know what I'm doing) I spin her around and push my body flush up against hers, while cupping her cheeks in my hands.

"Emily what—" She starts.

But I cut her off with a kiss more passionate than I ever thought I could initiate.

She struggles momentarily before giving into it. We move in unison, and soon we're both picking up speed with an urgency, like we're trying to devour each-other hole. But before we can get carried away, I pull away from her and she whimpers in protest.

But because of the lack of oxygen we're both breathing heavy.

I rest my forehead against hers.

"I'm stupid sometimes, but I never want anyone but you Alison. No matter how many girls throw themselves my way, all I see is you. All I want is you! If you've never believe anything I say please believe that." I take her hand and place it over my fast beating heart. "This is what you do to me, you make me nervous and excited all at the same time. I've never felt that way before and I don't think I ever will." I say honestly.

Alison looks like she's in between a mix of wanting to cry and leaping for joy. So she does both. She shakes her head with a smile as tears roll down her face. "You make me crazy Emily, I don't know why and it's strange to me to feel this way, but you make me like this." She takes my hand and place it over her heart as well. "I'm nervous and excited too. And I don't want it to stop either. And I promise to work on my jealously, but like I said you make me crazy." She says sheepishly.

I laugh and kiss her gently. "I kind of like the jealous side of you. It makes me feel wanted..." I admit. "Although I would be okay if you did turn it down a bit." I toss in with a teasing smile. "Like I said I'm not interested in anyone but you."

She smiles brightly at my words before leaning in to kiss me again. This time the kiss automatically deepens and I'm lifting her up and placing her on the sink before stepping in between her legs.

I move my mouth from hers and begin kissing down her jaw and onto her neck.

"Shit Em..." she moans out.

I feel my heart rate pick up and I bite down slightly on her neck, and she lets out a deep groan.

But before we can go any further the door swings open.

"Woah!"

I turn to see a drunk Lucas swaying in the doorway with wide eyes.

I move to jump away but I realize I'm holding Alison up on the sink and if move she'll fall over.

So I stay put with a sheepish look on my face.

"Sorry I interrupted." Lucas says before shutting the door behind him.

Busted...

 **Thank you. Next update coming soon. Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter. All**


	13. Chapter 13

**Alison Dilaurentis Must Die:**

 **Episode 13: Bad Decisions.**

 **Rated slightly M**

 **Alison's POV.**

 **~x~X~x~ Two Weeks Later ~x~X~x~**

"Damn...okay that other dress was hot, but I love this color on you.." I hear Mona comment somewhere in the background, as I stare at my reflection in the mirror, surveying the dress I'm trying on.

I twirl around once in the mirror before taking my hair and pulling it to the side of my head so I can get a better look at my shoulders in the blue dress.

Hmm.

She's right **.** This dress is the same color as my eyes and totally brings them out.

I give another twirl in the mirror before I let a smile grace my features. "This is a nice color on me isn't it." I asks rhetorically.

She already pointed it out I just needed to say it out loud.

Mona shakes her head at me with a small smile. "Now all we need to do is find you a date for the homecoming dance..." she says matter of factly.

I roll my eyes at her statement about finding me a date...again.

"I thought we talked about this Mona, no more blind dates." I say exasperatedly.

Mona just scoffs and stands up. "The dance is in two weeks Alison, you need to bring a hot date if you want to get homecoming queen." She explains like I'm a toddler.

"I don't care about homecoming queen Mon I told you that." I explain back.

Well I do, but not as much as she does **.**

Mona just rolls her eyes at me. "Of course you do Alison. If you win you'd be the youngest girl in school to ever take the crown. And besides we both know you have guys lining up at your locker to ask you out, just pick one." She says moving in front of me to look at herself in the mirror.

I step back and allow her to have her mirror time.

"I don't want to go out with any boys from our school." I say with a pout.

"Well Wren does have an available brother. And Archer is really cute **.**..." she trails off adjusting her lipstick.

I scrunch up my nose. "What kind of name is Archer..." I criticize.

"Seriously Alison, stop looking for excuses for the reason why you really don't want to go with anybody at school." Mona says giving me a knowing side eye in the mirror.

I bite my lip to contain my smile at even the thought of her. "I have no idea what your talking about." I say casually, taking the lipstick out of her hand.

Just my type of shade. Mona moves over so we're standing side by side.

"Right so a certain tall, tan, dark haired girl has nothing to do with you not wanting to go to homecoming with a hot male?" Mona asks rhetorically.

I smirk **.** "Maybe..." this causes Mona to smile triumphant. "Sue me Mona, Just because I rather be slow dancing with her doesn't mean I should be crucified for it." I defend.

"I'm not saying anything like that. All I'm saying is, you're the one who doesn't want anyone involved in your business with her. Don't you think bringing her to homecoming will draw attention to your relationship. What happened to keeping it a secret?" Mona reasons.

I let out a sigh. I know she's right, I just wish that she wasn't.

It's not that I'm ashamed of Emily, it's just that liking her is new to me **.** I've never dated someone just cause, it's always been a status move on my part, going on dates just so the school can gossip about my new boo.

That's just how it works.

But it's different with Em, I don't want the school gossiping about us. I want to keep this to myself.

It's kind of sacred to me.

And besides coming out in this day in age means you have to label yourself, and the last thing I want to be labeled as is Lesbian.

That sticks with you throughout high school and I don't want that.

I'm not homophobic...I mean **,** duh. But I also have to protect my reputation.

I turn to look at Mona who's still adjusting

Her makeup in the mirror. "I like her Mona **,** but your right I'm not ready to come out." I admit.

Mona smiles at me softly. "Of course I'm right and of course you're not. So I have a remedy, you need a beard. Someone who's really gay but needs to remain in the closet to cover your secret. And I know just the guy **.** " Mona says with a devious smirk.

I swallow. God what am I getting myself into.

"Did you two find everything okay?" **I** hear a familiar voice behind me say.

I turn around to see Maya standing by the door with her hands behind her back staring at us curiously.

I try my best not to glare, but I'm sure she can notice the not so subtle change in my facial muscles.

It's not that I hate Maya, it's just that I...Well I hate her. She's never known when to keep her hands off of what's mine. I'm sure it's always unintentional but still that shit is annoying.

First it was...well we're not getting into that, but now it's Emily.

I'm sure she doesn't deserve my attitude but honestly I don't care what she doesn't deserve. I know exactly what she's going to get.

"Of course we have." I say turning back to the mirror to check myself out one last time. "This dress is to die for...I mean Emily won't be able to keep her hands off me...don't you think Maya?" I ask innocently still twirling around in the mirror.

Maya glares at me at the mention of Emily's name, before she gives me a forced smile. "The dress is beautiful."

I turn and smile at her "You're too kind." I say teasingly.

I see Mona out the corner of my eye trying not to smile.

"I'll take this one, but the other ones were simply not good enough, and I don't have time to put them back **.** " I say gesturing to a huge pile of dresses that Mona tossed off to the side after she vetoed them **.** "But you don't mind cleaning this up right Maya? I mean that is your job after all." I say with a challenging raised eyebrow.

I can see Maya struggling to control her anger and she clenches and unclenches her fist. "No..." she says through clenched teeth. "Not at all."

I tilt my head to the side giving her a smile. "Thanks, you're a doll." And I promptly turn away, silently dismissing her.

When she's gone I share a smile with Mona through the mirror.

"You're such a bitch Ali." Mona says with a scandalous smile.

"Oh you love it." I say turning back to look at the mirror, fluffing my hair out.

 **~x~X~x~ Friday At School ~x~X~x~**

"Did I ever mention how much I love your car." Emily says as she pulls me into another deep kiss.

I smile as she kisses along my jaw line **.** "You've might have mentioned it once or twice." I say with a giggle as she nibbles on my earlobe.

It's been two weeks since Noel's party and Emily and I have been inseparable. It's like something just took over her and now she can't keep her hands off of me.

At first I was worried that maybe she was only clinging to me to compensate for pissing me off at the party. So I started to pull back, but Emily being the amazing person that she is figured it out around the third day and reassured me that she wasn't trying to make anything up to me. She told me that she really liked me and that she wanted to try and make this work.

It took some convincing on her part. Especially in the form of kissing, lots and lots of kissing, and then we were back and better than ever.

I pull back panting heavy. "We have to stop or we're going to be late for class." I warn.

Emily just pouts before gently pecking me on the lips. "Fine, but I'm not happy about it." She says playfully.

I grab her by the neck and pull her into one more final kiss. "Don't be such a baby." I tease as I let her go. I pull down the driver side visor and look inside the mirror to check to make sure my makeup is still in tack, and Emily does the same thing. "Besides, there's more where that comes from later." I say with a wink.

Emily smirks before she shuts the visor and grabs her backpack, stepping out of the vehicle, I quickly follow behind.

"So are you coming over tonight after school?" I ask as I sidestep her.

"I can't today, I have my swim meet against Central High." Emily says with a nervous smile on her face, but I can still see the excitement in her eyes.

She always gets this look on her face when she has a swim meet. It's a cross between wanting to jump for joy and run like hell.

I smile and nudge her arm. "Which I know you're going to blow them out of the water. And I'll be in the front row cheering you on the entire time **.** " I says cheerfully, trying to get her to smile genuinely.

It works.

Emily face lights up. "You're coming?" She asks hopefully.

I frown incredulously at her. "What do you mean am I coming, of course I am **.** I have to support my girl right." I say like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Emily blushes a deep red, as she bites her lip and looks away **.** I stare curiously at her, trying to read her thoughts. When she looks back at me her eyes have darkened slightly. "I wish we were alone right now because I really want to kiss the fuck out you right now."

This time its my turn to blush.

"Ali, Em, Wait up **.** " I hear Noel shout has he approaches us from across the quad, Mona and Sarah attached to his hips.

"Hey guys." Emily greets before clearing her throat to get over whatever took over her thoughts, but not before shooting me a knowing look that has me swallowing hard.

I'm having a hard time forming words because I'm still processing that look Emily just gave me, so I just nod my head in greeting.

They all give me peculiar looks but decide not to say anything.

I'm grateful for that.

"So my brother's throwing a huge party in our honor of winning tonight **,** you guys down **?** " Noel asks, as he takes my backpack from my shoulders and shoulders it himself.

I give him a sly smirk at his whipped nature, but out the corner of my eye I can see the glare on Emily's face. I bite my lip to contain my laughter.

"We haven't even won yet and he's already advertising a victory party?" Emily asks in confusion.

Noel just smirks. "We both know that with me and you as anchors we're going to kick their asses tonight." He says confidently **.**

Emily doesn't respond she just offers a shrug instead.

"I don't know. My mom and CeCe is spending time at my Aunts this weekend, and my dads at business conference in California. This will be the first time I have the house to myself." I say wistfully thinking about being alone for the first time in a long time.

Well not really alone, of course Emily will be there to keep me company.

And it's as if she read my thoughts we both share a knowing look, and the frown on her face turns to a devious smile.

"Well screw the party at the cabin, we should all just come and hang out at your house." Noel says excitedly.

I scoff and shake my head. "Hard pass."

"Party pooper." He mumbles under his breath and I stick my tongue out at him. Noel copies my action before pulling me into a light head lock.

"Hey! Watch my hair ass!" I say shoving him off and running a hand through my hair to salvage it.

He laughs, and I swat at him again for good measure.

This time Emily glares at him.

"Okay children." Mona says interrupting us. "Enough fighting. So Noel who are you taking to the homecoming dance?"

He smirks in his usual boyish way. "I was thinking about asking Aria Montgomery to the dance."

I freeze and Emily mistakingly crashes into me. She grips my hips to make sure that I don't topple over. "You Okay?" She asks with a worried expression.

I blink back my haze and give her a forced smile. "Y-Yeah. Sorry I thought I saw something on the ground." I lie, Emily eyes me skeptically but eventually looks away.

"Why Montgomery?" Mona asks curiously.

"Yeah I didn't even know you two knew each other." I add on. My curiosity peaking as well.

I haven't seen Aria since that time she bumped into me in the hallway, and I haven't properly talked to her since before freshman year.

We used to be super close but in order to become popular I had to create my own agenda and she would have gotten in the way of that.

"She sits next to me in my art class. We talk a lot, and she helps me with my projects sometimes. She's really cool." He ends with a shrug, but I can see the genuineness in his eyes.

"That's Okay I guess." I say shrugging uncaringly. "She is pretty cool." I add on.

"I didn't know you knew her." Noel says with a frown.

I freeze at my almost slip of the tongue.

I clear my throat and force a cocky smile on my face. "Please. I know everyone."

That seems to sate them because they soon move on in topic.

"What about you Emily? Who are you taking?" Mona asks curiously. But I can tell from the way she's looking at her she's really trying to find out if Emily wants to asks me.

"I don't know..." Emily starts. "I haven't really thought about the dance."

"Seriously Em? This is the biggest dance of the year." Sarah says.

I shoot her a fierce glare at calling Emily Em.

Emily herself just brushes it off while shooting me a look that says 'back down tiger', "It's Emily, and I know but still...I mean I don't even know if I'm even going." She says and all of us stop in our track.

"What!" We all say in unison.

Emily looks scared, she takes a step back and holds her hands up in surrender. "Well no ones asked me yet, well a couple of people did, but not the right person." She says shooting me a quick look before quickly looking away.

My skin boils at the thought of someone else asking her out, but it quickly cools when I realize that she's waiting on me to ask her.

And then I feel guilt because we never discussed whether or not we would go to the dance together and I sort of...already... found a date.

The guilt hits me harder.

"Well I'm sure you'll find the perfect someone soon." Mona says with an evil knowing smile.

"Hopefully, it's real soon." Emily says looking over at me again. "What about you Alison?" She adds "have you thought about who you want to take to the dance?" She asks with a small hopeful smile on her face.

I swallow the sand paper in my throat. "Actually...I.." I start but can't finish, but oh of course, leave it to Mona to help me out.

"Oh you haven't heard? Alison's taking that yummy guy from the football team, Sean Ackard. They'll be the hottest couple at the dance. Besides me and Wren of course." Mona adds on.

"Yeah right. You mean after me and Aria." Noel argues.

But I don't hear Mona nor Noel's argument, I'm to busy watching Emily's face drop in anguish at the mention of me taking someone else to the dance. She frowns in confusion, then hurt, and then disappointment. And my heart aches with every emotion that crosses her face.

"Emily I—" I start but am cut off immediately.

"You know what, that's great..." she says blinking back tears and giving me a forced smile. "But I'll see you guys later, I have to get to class..." she says leaving the group not waiting for us to say our goodbyes.

We all watch her leave with different emotions on our face. Noel and Sarah look confused, Mona has a small smile on her face, and well of course mine is more of sadness then anything.

I turn and shoot Mona a glare to wipe the smile off her face, before storming off after her.

"Where are you going?!" Noel yells after me.

"To class!" I say through gritted teeth. I don't hear them follow me, which makes me feel a lot better.

When I get inside the building, the hallway is crowded because the warning bell to get to first period hasn't signaled yet. I look around but I don't see Emily anywhere.

Fuck!

I let out a small growl in frustration, that instantly clears me a path to my locker. I aggressively open my locker and pull my English book down. When I slam it shut, Mona is leaning against the other side of the locker with a knowing smirk on her face.

"What the fuck was that!" I nearly yell at her.

Mona rolls her eyes. "Don't be so melodramatic Ali...I was just testing her." She says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Testing her? For what?"

"I wanted to see if she was thinking about asking you to the dance. I can't exactly ask her myself seeing as though she doesn't know I know about you two." Mona explains.

I pivot on my heels and start down the hall with her following me.

"Did you have to throw me under be bus to do it?" I asks tiredly.

"No...but it was much more groundbreaking to see her response to finding out that you in fact plan on bringing someone else to the dance. She was hurt..." Mona says the last part softly. "But that's a good thing." This part She says excitedly.

I stop walking and turn to face her. "Hurting her was a good thing?" I ask confused. "Because to me that sounds like a really, really bad thing." I say angrily.

Mona shakes her head. "Hurting her isn't the good thing, knowing that she wanted to go to the dance with you is a good thing. It means that she wants to date you date you, and not just roll around in the sheets with you behind closed doors." Mona says wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I blush a deep red at the thought of rolling around in my sheets with Emily.

I clear my throat awkwardly before turning on my heels to continue walking down the hall towards my class. "We've actually never done anything yet." I mutter.

"Wait, What!" Mona reaches out and grabs me by the elbow and spins me around to face her again. "You're joking right? You two have been together for what almost a month now and your telling me she hasn't gotten past second base yet?"

I roll my eyes at her dramatics. "It's not like she's the only person I've dated and never gotten intimate with. I was with Darren for like 6 months." I defend.

"Yeah but she's the first person that I didn't have to force you to go out with. You actually really like her unlike the others. And don't think I didn't peep you two getting hot in heavy in your car this morning." Mona says with a teasing smile.

I blush again and turn to head towards class again. "It'll happen when it happens. I'm not rushing it."

"Like hell you aren't. Don't think I don't know why you want to stay home this weekend. It's so you and Emily can do the nasty." Mona says in a scandalized voice.

"Shh." I says turning around to glare at her. "Do you want to announce it to the entire school." I ask.

"I won't have to. It'll be written all over your face and in your body language, when you finally get laid and take the edge off the whole school will notice, when you're a lot more nicer." Mona says with a teasing face.

"Oh my god, shut up." I playfully push her and we both share a laugh.

"You can't say you haven't thought about it." Mona says once we control our giggles.

I think back to all the times me and Emily have been hot and heavy making out. How many times I tried to stick my hand under her shirt and feel her skin. How many times she's laid between my legs turning me on to the point where I wanna grind into her. How many times that I've prayed that she'd just want to ravish me.

So have I thought about it? Hell yes!

But I doubt with the pace me and Emily's moving at, if it's ever going to happen.

"I'm perfectly fine with just kissing." I lie dismissively.

Mona studies me for a moment before she scoffs our a laugh, seeing right through my casual response. "Right."

After that, me and Mona part ways and I enter Mr. Fitz classroom, happy to see that the old pervert isn't here.

But Emily is. I give her a small wave when she makes eye contact with me. It last for a moment before she turns and looks away from me ignoring my presence.

Great. Now she probably hates me.

I let out a deep breath as I make my way over to the empty chair next to her. Everyone knows that chair belongs to me so no one would be crazy enough to take my spot.

"Are you going to be ignoring me all day?" I ask tiredly.

Emily shoots me a brief glare before turning to look away from me.

"Okay I see." I say after I get her wordless response. "But for what it's worth I didn't know you wanted to go to the dance with me. Actually I didn't even know you planned on asking me." I defend weakly.

Her glare is back ten fold. "If that's your lame ass way of apologizing, then you're sadly mistaken." She scoffs out.

"No, that was my lame ass way of getting you to talk to me." I say with a slight smile, but I quickly drop it when she clenches her jaw. "This is my lame ass apology. I'm sorry Em, I didn't know it would hurt your feelings if I went to the dance with someone else. But I should have because I should have asked for your permission. I just thought that by going with someone else I was keeping the suspicion off of us." I explain.

Emily seems to lose some of her steam at my explanation, but I can still see the hurt on her face. "Well it just sucks that you would rather go to the dance with someone else to keep us a secret, because you don't want anyone to know you're with me." She whispers sadly right as the bell rings and Mr. Fitz walks into the room signaling the start of class.

Great. I really fucked up.

 **~x~X~x~ Lunch Time ~x~X~x~**

I walk through the hallway staring down at my phone reading through my Twitter when a shoulder rams into mine, causing me to drop my phone.

Son of a bitch.

I bend down to pick it up.

"You don't know how to watch where the fuck you're going!" I seethe through clenched teeth as I inspect my phone for damage.

"I wasn't the one looking down at my phone." I hear a calm familiar voice from above me.

Shocked, I look up to see none other than Hanna Marin standing above me. Her face impassive but still flawless as ever.

I stand slowly, never dropping eye contact with her. "Well isn't this a pleasant surprise, Hanna Marin doesn't know when to step out of my way."

She smirks at this. "Not as surprising as Alison Dilaurentis believing that I should have too." She counters back.

I clench my jaw at her smug expression.

"You know what...I'm not doing this with you right now." I say turning on my heels to storm away.

"What another surprise Alison Dilaurentis, running away when faced with a situation she doesn't want to handle." Hanna says lowly interrupting my storm off. "Or better yet should I say once again Alison Dilaurentis is walking away from me." The last thing is said with Hanna coming to stand in front of me blocking my hasty retreat to the cafeteria.

I look around the now seemingly empty hall. Everyone is either in their 4th period or the cafeteria, and I couldn't be more grateful for that.

I swallow down the retort on my tongue before rolling my eyes at her. "You deserve an Oscar with how dramatic you're being right now."

Hanna scoffs our a laugh. "Oh, I'm the dramatic one? Your the one with her entire life on broadcast for the entire student body to watch, just so she can seem more important than she really is."

I bite back the growl threatening to rip from my throat.

If it's one thing Hanna Marin was good at was getting under my skin.

"Jealously isn't very becoming of you." I retort as I move pass her.

When I'm halfway away from her, her voice stops me.

"I see you've found my replacement." Hanna calls out after me, causing me to freeze in place.

Shit. I knew this would happen one way or another.

"So your jealous of Mona?" I deflect easily.

Hanna just smiles at me lifting both eyebrows in amusement. "I'm not talking about her." She counters.

I turn around to face her. Even after all this time I still can read her like a book, no matter how hard she's practiced perfecting her mask.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I deny.

Hanna lets out a humorously laugh as she shakes her head looking away from me. "You don't think I see you walking around making googly eyes at her. Or both of you hiding in the shadows hoping not to be seen. Does that not ring any bells?" She asks folding her arms across her chest.

I bite my lip and look away from her.

Like I said she knows how to get under my skin.

"If I admit it, will it make it more real for you." I ask curiously.

Hanna swallows and looks down scuffing her foot along the ground. "It's been real for a while. I just never thought you'd find someone that you would go public with." She explains.

"I never said that I'd go public with her." I say frowning at her in confusion.

Hanna just smiles sadly and shakes her head. "She's already come out to the school, every girl and guy, wants to do her. Do you really think she'll stay in the closet for you?" She concludes.

I bite my lip to hold back the slap I want to give her. Instead all I can think of me and Emily's argument from this morning.

Hanna's right, Emily's ready to be out in the open with me. She's holding on to the hope that I'll change my mind. But look at all the people who hit on her on a daily basis.

For fucks sakes there was a line of people waiting to make out with her at Noel's party.

Shit! What do I do.

"I guess it sucks that the one thing that you get to have to yourself wants to belong to everyone else. Ring any bells." Hanna asks teasingly as she moves to pass me.

I quickly reach out to grab her arm. "Let's not pretend who really ended what! Because we both know you chose not to come along, I didn't leave you behind." I say through gritted teeth.

I can see Hanna swallow the lump in her throat as she breaks eye contact with me and pulls her arm away from me and walks inside the cafeteria.

When she disappears I take a deep breath and rest my back against an unknown locker.

To have your insecurities ringing in your own head is one thing, to have them voiced out loud by someone that knows all your insecurities like the back of her hand **i** s another **.**

I squeeze my eyes shut at her words.

Emily won't wait for me forever.

She's already out, she won't go back in the closet for me.

Every guy and girl in this school have wet dreams about her.

I really like Emily, but do I really want to risk everything for her.

I know Mona said that everyone would drool over us if we came out as a couple, but do I really want to broadcast my relationship with her.

She's the first honest relationship I've ever started. Before her everything was just shallow and basic to help improve my status. But that's not what this is between me and Emily. It's much, much more.

I take a deep breath and lean off of the locker, turning to walk in the opposite direction of the cafeteria, towards to the pool area.

I peak inside to see that it's seemingly empty, so I sneak in, shutting the door softly behind me.

I wasn't kidding when I said that swimming makes me feel better, but today I prefer to just dip my toes in the water.

I take my shoes off and sit along the edge dipping my toes into the water.

This is like the most depressing day of my life.

"The pool area is only authorized to the swim team without supervision of a teacher."

I hear a voice say across the room.

When I look up I see Paige McCullers, taking of her robe and placing her swim goggles on her head. She looks up at me with a pointed glare.

"What are you the pool police." I scoff out with an eye roll.

"No, but I'd much rather not have to see your face when I'm trying to concentrate." She says walking around the pool closer to me. "Because if you don't remember, thanks to your doing, I missed a month's worth of practice, so I have to practice as much as I can to catch up with my teammates."

I roll my eyes at her dramatics as she approaches me.

"Well you're lucky it wasn't longer. So go home and count your lucky ducks before they run out." I say dismissively **.**

Paige laughs incredulously. "God, you're such a pretentious bitch! You don't even care that you ruined my life!" She says angrily.

I open my mouth to respond before thinking wiser of my next words.

I let out a deep breath before shrugging my agreement.

"What? Cat's got your tongue." Paige teases out in a slightly shocked tone.

"Contrary to popular belief I don't like to spend my time having verbal smack downs with irrelevant people." I reply.

"I don't consider myself irrelevant...I find it hard to believe you do to, considering our history." She says.

I finally look up at her, I fight the frown that wants to break out on my face as I school my features **t** o remain neutral. "What history?" I asked between clenched teeth. "You perved on me in the locker room, you got exposed, get over it."

If I expected her to respond with anger I didn't get it. Paige just smiled and gave me a knowing smile. "We both know that's not what happened." This time she walks over and stands right behind me, forcing me to twist my upper body to gaze up at her. "We both know you led me on."

I scoff at her accusation. "You've seriously swallowed way to much chlorine in your lifespan if you think I'm attracted to you." I deadpan.

Paige smirks at my comment while giving me an eye roll. "I'm not obsessed with you, I could care less if you like me or not. But what I do know is that your attracted to girls. That's why you outed me. You got scared that I'd out your first so you beat me to the punch."

She smirks at me like she just won the lottery.

And it's a good little scenario she has worked out in her head.

To bad it's wrong.

I tilt my head up at her, observing her. "You know I think you're crazy enough to believe your own words. But let me tell you this. I am not, nor will I ever be attracted to you or anyone who doesn't have a penis between their legs!" I lie easily.

I see something flicker in her eyes before her smirk drops to something more of sympathy.

That infuriates me even more than that stupid smirk on her face.

"I think you're the crazy one believing her own words." She says shaking her head at me. "No ones going to judge you if you like girls. Not like they've judged me." She adds as an afterthought.

Even though her words are soft I can't help the glare that results from her words.

"Is that what you want? For me to be a dyke just like you?! Would that make you feel better about yourself?" I seethe at her.

Paige's look of sympathy turns into a glare. "I'd be careful about what I say next." She threatens.

Even though I agree with her words I can't stop the angry smirk and hateful words that come out of my mouth next. "Or you'll what? look up pictures of me on my Instagram and use it for your spank bank you fucking creep?!" I say and before I can retract my words out I'm pushed harshly into the water.

I break the surface with a resounding smack.

I didn't get the chance to take a deep breath before I went into the water so my air is limited to nothing. I kick as fast as I can to the surface of the water but the second I come up for air a hand grabs my head and pushes me back under.

I try that several times before I realize that Paige is trying to drown me.

"What's wrong Alison, don't have nothing to say?" She taunts like the sick bitch She is as she pushes me under one last time.

And no matter how hard I fight I can't seem to get out of her grip, so I'm my panic I do the next smartest thing, I grab her arm and pull her in with me.

Once she's submerged underwater, I'm out of her hold and swimming far away from the Crazy bitch as possible.

She comes up for air just as quickly as she went under.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I scream from the other side of the pool.

Paige just casually wipes the water off her face as she gazes at me through watery eyes. "Relax, I wasn't going to drown you."

"Uh, excuse me? You just fucking held my head underwater!" I all but scream at her.

Now I see how Emily felt when I pushed her under water.

Paige smiles at me before floating on her back.

"I told you to watch your words." She drawls lazily. "And besides, we both know you had it coming, you deserved it. Now we're even." She says with a satisfied look on her face.

"Even? Not even close. I should report your ass to the principle." I threaten.

Paige scoffs out a laugh as she floats closer to me. "And tell him what? That you snuck into the pool room during lunch and almost drowned. It'll be your word vs. mine." She says carelessly.

I roll my eyes as I fold my arms across my chest.

"You know...I knew you were a bitch but I never realized how much of a brat you were when you don't get your way." Paige says peaking over at me, as she closes in on me.

"Whatever McCullers. All I know is, if you pull something like that again, I won't hesitate to personally end you." I threaten weakly.

Part of me is still slightly shaking from what just happened.

I really can't believe this bitch just tried to kill me.

And she's acting like nothing happened at all.

True making of serial killer.

I must have zoned out because before I know it Paige is floating right in **f** ront of me when I finally snap out of it.

I slowly swim away from her, and I watch a smug smirk appear on her face. Even though her eyes are closed I can feel her watching my every move.

Fucking bitch.

We float in silence for a moment. The longer the quiet lingers the faster the fear and anger I felt towards her dissipates and curiosity begins to replace it.

I clear my throat awkwardly to get her attention and even though she doesn't look at me I know she's waiting for me to continue.

"Can I ask you a question?" I ask slightly timid.

"I'm sure your going to ask even if I was to say no." Paige says unbothered by me.

I refrain from rolling my eyes by turning to float on my back as well. "What's it like being...gay?" I say, I quickly peak over at Paige, her brows are furrowed in confusion or concentration. I don't know which one. "I mean, I know you've just come out—" I start again only to be cut off.

"Forced out." Paige interrupts me with a frown. "I was forced out. I wasn't anywhere near ready to tell people about myself. This school, these people can be so closed minded especially if your little clique doesn't approve of something." She says in a voice filled with disdain.

I instantly feel guilty, but I do my best not to show it.

"But it's had it's perks. I mean I can now be myself and more and more people have come forth to show their support...granted I think that it has something to do with Emily coming out, it's now becoming accepted by the school." Paige says. She finally makes eye contact with me. "Which I'm assuming her coming out might be correlated with your line of questioning. Tell me Alison, do you have the hots for one Miss Emily Fields?" She questions with a smirk.

I freeze like a deer in headlights.

"W-wha..." I clear my throat to gain some control over my shock. "What? That's ridiculous."

Paige just lets out a scoff before breaking eye contact with me. "Oh please. You're so obvious. One second your like this homophobic bitch making everyone's life miserable. Then Emily joins your little circle and your now the melting ice queen. You haven't started a rumor or made anyone suicidal in weeks." She concludes.

I want so bad to lash out at her but I can't get mad at the truth that rings in her words.

I've been M.I.A from the schools drama.

I haven't had the desire to make anyone's life a living hell.

And that's definitely directly correlated with Emily becoming my somewhat secret girlfriend.

Going back to torment people just haven't been appealing to me. And not only that, Emily's a gentle soul, and I couldn't fathom the look of disappointment on her face if she saw me do something carelessly mean to someone.

And besides, I only bully people as a status thing, not because I actually enjoy it. So taking a break from doing so has been amazingly stress free.

"Just because you like to munch on lady carpet doesn't mean everyone else does." I deflect, but Paige sees right through me.

She laughs humorously at me. "Who are you trying to convince here? Me or yourself. It's not like I'm going to run and tell anyone, unlike you I know how important it is to come out on your own. I would never force anyone out of the closet even if they deserve it." She says giving me a side eye.

And the guilt just keeps piling on.

"No one cares if you ride the rainbow cloud Alison. If anything you'd start a trend and by next week the entire school will be dancing out of the closet." She jokes giving me a playful look.

I bite my lip to keep from laughing.

She shrugs and begins swimming my way. "If your wondering how your experience will go, well I can't tell you that. Everyone has different experiences. Yours will go drastically different than mines...some people are accepted others are ridiculed. Just depends on the person." Paige makes eye contact with me. "It's okay to feel the way you do Alison, I know you outed me out of fear but I'm telling you that you don't have to be scared of anything. Contrary to your belief, the opinions of a bunch of followers don't matter at the end of the day. When we graduate two years from now none of this even matters." She concludes sincerely.

My breath hitches as my throat closes slightly.

The day isn't even halfway over and already I'm being read to myself like an open book.

It's really unnerving seeing as though I pride myself on being a cold hearted mysterious bitch.

"I...I have to go." I barely get out before I'm swimming towards the edge of the pool. I hear no protest from Paige as I pull myself out of the water.

I'm sure I resemble something of a wet rag dog as I shiver in my clothes.

Good thing I keep a spare change of clothes in my gym locker.

Before I retreat from the locker room I take a peak of my shoulder to see Paige staring at me with a look between contempt and sympathy.

I want to say something spiteful to wipe that damn look of her face but what comes out is the complete opposite.

"I didn't out you..." I start. " I don't know who did...but it wasn't me. I would never do that to someone." I say as a half ass apology.

Paige frowns in confusion before opening her mouth to respond. But I don't give her the opportunity, I'm already fleeing the room.

I manage to make it into the locker room without anyone seeing me.

Good thing to because I look like a drowned rat.

I quickly dry my hair and get dressed in my spare clothes.

When I check my phone for the time I realize that I've only got one more period left before the day is over. So why go to class anyways. I would go home but my mom is probably there, and she's been an emotional reck ever since Jason was shipped off to rehab, and I really don't have time to play the the consoling daughter role.

I settle on me and Emily's spot. It's the only place I know where I'll be alone.

I grab some materials from my locker that way I'm not being unproductive before I make my way to our spot.

A part of me is hoping that Emily will be there so I can talk to her, and the other part knows it's just wishful thinking.

When I enter, I'm surrounded by silence, it's both calming and scary at the same time.

Because for the first time today I'm alone with my thoughts uninterrupted.

Fuck this can't be good.

 **~x~X~x~ AfterSchool ~x~X~x**

"Where were you during fifth period?" I hear Mona ask on the other side of my locker.

I shut it, slowly zipping up the sweater that I'm wearing, before turning to face her.

"I had some things to handle." I say vaguely as I toss my bag over my shoulder. I move to walk past her and Mona turns to walk along side of me.

"Okayyyyy...way to be cryptic." Mona says sarcastically. She looks around at the direction we're taking. "Why are we heading to the pool area?"

I let out a small sigh. "Why else Mona?...I want to watch Emily swim.." I say before pushing the doors open.

Mona smirks and shakes her head. "Even when the girl is pissed at you, she still has you wrapped around her finger"

I scoff but other than that I choose to ignore Mona. I scan the crowd too see familiar faces. Which is weird but half the school is here. Who knew swimming would be such a popular sport.

"Well look who decided to show their friend some damn support." Noel says approaching us with his familiar boyish smirk in place. "It's about time..." he says crossing her arms over his chest. He's in his warm up track suit. I can just bet he's wearing Speedos under them, which causes a teasing smirk to grace my lips.

"Don't worry cupcake I'm not here to watch you lose." I say looking away from him to scan the crowd for the swimmer that had captured my attention.

His smirk never falters as he shrugs. "I know that. Don't worry your precious Emily is still in the locker room. Probably doing her pregame rituals."

I raise a defiant eyebrow at him.

Sensing my unasked question, Noel just lets out a laugh. "Oh please, your so obvious. Ever since Emily has joined our little circle you've been all about her...which is cool or whatever I don't judge." he says holding his hands up in defense at my now ridged form. "If anything I think it's supper hot." He adds with a smirk.

My eyes widen but before I can respond Mona is grabbing my arm.

"Okayyy before you start jizzing in your pants, we're going to leave." Mona says while pulling me away from him. "Good luck out there...don't drown." She tosses over her shoulder.

"Am I that fucking obvious!?" I asks once we're out of hearing range of Noel.

"Uh duh!" Mona says with an eye roll. "But don't worry I don't think anyone else in the school has picked up on it, other wise the gossip halls would be ringing with new material." She says with a sick smile on her face as we stop in front of our section of the bleachers.

I take a deep breath as a survey the crowd.

It's sectioned off just like in school. The jocks, the nerds, the goth kids etc.

But then I spot a familiar face. The one that I've been searching for since I've seen the size of the crowd.

"Mrs. Fields! Hi!" I say as I walk over to her, with a confused Mona following behind me.

Her eyes widen in surprise when sees me approaching her. "Alison darling, what a wonderful surprise...I didn't expect to see you here." She says before pulling me into a strong embrace.

"Well I came to support Emily...I figured that's what best friends do." I say with a cheesy smile.

Mrs Fields smiles back but she develops an unreadable look in her eyes. "Right...well. I'm glad your here."

I swallow back the question formed from her gaze. "Mind if I sit with you?" I ask, gesturing towards the seat next to her.

Her eyes widen in surprise again. "Oh no...please. I could use the company." She says sitting down.

I sit down next to her and gesture for Mona to sit next to me. "Mrs Fields this is my friend Mona, Mona this is Emily's mom."

Mona plasters on her best smile as she reaches over to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you Mrs Fields."

"Likewise." Mrs Fields says with a smile similar to Mona's.

When the pleasantries are over we all turn to see the girls swim team coming out of the locker room.

Emily is the last one to emerge.

She looks so cute in her uniform.

I watch as she stretches her arms, she does this little jump up and down thing shaking her limbs lose. She rolls her neck around and then shakes her hands.

Finally she turns to look at the crowd, I'm assuming to look for her mom. When she spots her she gives a small wave, and then she spots me sitting next to her. Her smile turns into a frown of curiosity.

I smile and give her a small wave.

She tilts her head in question, and I unzip my jacket and pull out the homemade sign that I made for her while I was sitting in her secret spot.

The front of it reads : **I'M SORRY! I SUCK!**

And the back reads: **EMILY FIELDS ROCKS!**

I keep that sign in front though.

Emily blushes a deep red and shakes her head at me, but the smile on her face says more than any words can say.

Mrs Fields watches our interaction with a curious look, I watch as she looks at my sign to see the significance of it but shrugs when she doesn't see anything other than my second message to her.

Mona on the other hand is giving me a knowing smirk. She leans in and whispers in my ear. "You Guys are so cute."

I can't stop the shit eating grin that takes over my face. "Shut up!" I say gently shoving her shoulder as a blush works it's way up my face.

When the match starts. I watch as the girls line up ready to take there leap. We're tied for the most part, Paige is a really decent swimmer. I can see why she was co-captain. Then another girl glides through water, she's not as fast as Paige but she's a pretty good swimmer as well. And then last but not least comes Emily.

I watch as she takes the stand. She pulls her goggles down over her eyes as the girl in front of her approaches the wall. The second she touches it Emily dives into the water at lightening speed.

The crowd rises to their feet cheering her own.

Holy shit she's fast!

The crowd starts chanting her name and I make sure to hold her sign up for her and the opposing team to see.

I hear cheering all around, so I turn to survey the crowd and that's when I notice Hanna, and she's sitting next to Aria and Spencer. They're sitting at the top of the bleachers, a few spaces above me. I guess they never lost touch after our falling out freshman year.

I watch with rapt attention as Spencer screams Emily's name cheering her on. I frown in confusion.

Since when did Spencer know Emily... hmm maybe it's from class.

As if sensing someone watching her, Hanna looks down at me making eye contact. The look in her eyes is unreadable but it causes me to quickly look away from her.

It's always so chilling to see a blast from the past.

I turn around to watch Emily on her final lap. She's meters ahead of her opponent and it looks like she's gaining speed. She really is a mermaid.

When she touches the wall the time on the clock stops and the crowd roars with cheer.

Emily pulls herself out of the water as her team surrounds her in celebration. You can barely hear the guy on the speaker announcing her score.

The announcer then goes on to congratulate the RoseWood sharks and announces that the boys swim team will be swimming in the next ten minutes.

After receiving many hugs and pats on the back Emily pulls off of her swim cap and goggles, shaking her hair free.

My breath catches in my throat with how breath taking she looks.

It's like everything is moving in slow motion as she shakes her hair wet locks dry.

She smiles a genuine smile at me, but before she can say anything she's engulfed in a hug by her mom. Who's praising her match. Emily smiles thankfully as she pulls out of the hug.

"Congrats Emily. That was pretty impressive." Mona says as she stands next to me.

"Thank you." Emily says bashfully, before making eye contact with me again. A small smile graces her face. I'd like to think that it's a special type of smile, reserved specially for me.

We stand in silence for a moment just staring at eachother. Everything that Ive wanted to say to her since this morning has went out the window and now I'm drawing a blank.

So I say the only thing that comes to mind.

"Hi..." I say shyly.

Emily smiles widely as she mirrors my shy look. "Hey..." She says back.

Mona clears her throat awkwardly. "Well...I think I saw Sara come in. I'm just going to go join her to watch Noel's match." She says pointing a thumb over a shoulder in the direction of Sara and Shana. "Have fun." She says walking away but not before shooting me a wink.

I roll my eyes at her antics and if Mrs. Fields wasn't standing here I'd give her the middle finger salute.

I watch as Mrs. Fields just looks between me and Emily curiously.

"Uh...well, Alison again thank you for keeping me company. Emily I'll be in the car when your ready." Mrs. Fields says as she turns to leave.

"Wait Mrs Fields...I was wondering if it would be okay if I took Emily home?" I ask politely, ignoring the confused look Emily shoots me.

Mrs Fields smiles and nods her head. "That's fine dear. I'll see you at home Emmy." She says before leaving in to kiss her on the cheek before she leaves and disappears out the door.

Emily turns to face me. "I need to change first. You mind waiting a bit?" She asks shyly.

I smile and shake my head. Take your time.

Emily smiles at me but before she leaves I don't miss the small smile and head nod she gives to Hanna and the other girls at the top of the bleachers. But when I turn around they're already making there way down the bleachers and out the door and Emily is heading for the locker room.

That's so strange to see...

~x~X~x~ 20 minutes later ~x~X~x~

When Emily exists the locker room, I'm leaning against the wall checking my social media accounts.

"You ready to go?" I hear her voice say over my shoulder.

I quickly put my cellphone away before shooting her a small smile. "Yeah." I say as we start walking towards my car.

We walk in silence for a while, our shoulder occasionally brushing against each other's and I nervously fiddle with the sign in my hand and Emily pulls on the string of her gym bag.

It just causes an even bigger smile to grace my face.

"I made this for you..." I say lamely as I hand her the sign in my hand.

Emily smiles and takes it from me. "Thank you." She says with a blush. "I know we were kind of in a fight, but I'm still glad you came today."

I look at her with a small frown. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world Em." I say sincerely.

Emily blushes deeply.

I smirk at her reaction. "Come on loser." I say bumping her shoulder playfully with mine as we get to my car.

I let out a sigh of relief at how easy going this is. I thought Emily would ignore me even after I showed up and apologized. I'm just glad she's nicer than me because honestly I wouldn't have known what to do if she would have chosen to ignore me.

We both get in my car simultaneously. I watch as she buckles up and I start my car. "You don't have to be home right away right?" I asks.

She gives me a curious look before shaking her head no. "Just let me text my mom so she's not waiting up for me." Emily says as she pulls out her phone.

I smile to myself. Excellent.

I quickly pull off heading to the one place where we have seclusion.

~x~X~x~ Dilautentis House ~x~X~x~

When we pull into the driveway I notice all the cars are gone. I check my phone for the time, it's late enough which means Mom and CeCe are on their way to my aunts and Dad is who knows where with his secretary.

"Come on..." I say as I kill the engine then get out of the car with Emily right on my heels as I approach the door.

"When do your mom and CeCe come back?" Emily asks as a way of making small talk.

I open the door letting us in. "Not until Sunday evening." I say shutting the door behind her.

Emily makes a show of looking around the house like she's never seen the inside before. "Are we going upstairs to talk?" She asks finally turning to face me.

I nod and lead her up the stairs and towards my bed room. When we get inside I lock the door even though we're alone in the house. It's just a habit I have.

Emily sets her gym bag down on the floor before sitting down on the edge of my bed. She rubs her hands across her legs anxiously. She's not making eye contact with me so I'm assuming some of the apprehension that she had towards me early has now returned.

"So, I'm assuming you wanted to talk about earlier?" She asks finally looking at me.

I swallow harshly before nodding my head. I make my way over to her and sit next to her. I pivot towards, tucking my left leg underneath me.

"I don't know if Sorry is even enough to apologize to you. I'm sorry that I went and found a date for the dance without talking to you first. I just thought we were trying to keep our relationship a secret. I didn't know it would hurt your feelings so much...but I should have...and that's no excuse for what I did." I say reaching over and taking Emily's hand in mine.

Emily looks down at our joined hands before giving mine a quick squeeze. "I know we haven't talked about it, us becoming public...I guess I just got scared that you were ashamed of me. Or that you would rather go with some guy than come out to be with me." She says letting out small laugh.

My breath hitches a little when she hits the nail with hammer.

She frowns then slowly retracts her hands from mine. "Oh...so you are ashamed of being with me."

I open my mouth to say something but she quickly stands, effectively cutting me off.

"Maybe I should go..." She says moving towards the door.

"Emily wait!" I yell causing her to stop in her tracks. I quickly get up from the bed and take her hand in mine again. "I'm not ashamed to be with you...have you met you? You're amazing. I'm not ashamed of you...I'm just scared of coming out. I'm not one for labels, and coming out means that I'll have one placed on me. I don't know if I'm ready for that." I say honestly.

Emily reads my face for a moment before she takes a deep breath. "I understand that. And I would never force anyone out of the closet...if you're not ready then your not. I understand Ali." She says stepping closer to me. She brings her hand up tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "Just promise me you won't fall in love with Sean...I don't know if I can compete with how boyishly charming he is." She teases.

I let out a laugh and shake my head at her. "Trust me, Sean is as straight as a wet noddle. You have nothing to worry about." I reassure her.

I can see the relief cross her face before she gives a nonchalant shrug. "I wasn't worried." She says like to nothing.

I quirk an eyebrow teasingly at her. "Oh you weren't huh?" I ask as I start walking backwards towards my bed pulling Emily along with me.

"Nope." Emily says as she gently pushes me down on my bed and hovers over me. "I know you can't resist me." She says as she teasingly ghosts her lips over mine.

"You're right about one thing." I say pulling her lips in with my own.

The kiss starts off gentle with our lips just gliding against each other's but it soon picks up when Emily licks my bottom lip asking for entrance. I part my lips slightly and she slides her tongue in smoothly, setting my body on fire.

I let out a groan as Emily drops her weight on me, specifically in between my thighs. It takes everything in me not to grind up into her.

The ache between my legs is growing and it doesn't help when Emily gently bites my bottom lip before kissing along my jaw and neck. I tilt my head to give her better access. I can hear her breathing picking up just like I can feel my own rushing through my lungs. It feels like I'm hyperventilating.

I try to regulate my breathing but when she bites down on my neck I can't help the moan that releases as I arch up into her, effectively grinding my core against her tight stomach.

"Oh fuck Em..." I moan out and she moans back in response. God that felt so good. I wrap my legs around her waist and pull her closer to me, gripping her shirt. I need as much friction as I can get.

She places little kisses all over my neck before she goes back to my jawline and up to my ear. "Are you okay?" She breathes out before sucking my earlobe into her mouth.

I don't know how to respond, I just nod my head rapidly.

And then I feel it. Emily grinds her pelvis into mine, and the tingle that shoots straight to my spine takes my breath away.

"Em—" I barely get out before she's doing it again and again causing me to moan uncontrollably.

I can feel my underwear becoming ruined and the slickness that's generating there is creating a friction that has me craving so much more.

She makes her way over to my mouth kissing away my moans. But it doesn't work because she can't stop the moans falling out of her own mouth as well. So she opts to just rest her forehead against mine as she continues to grind harshly into me.

Something starts building in my lower abdomen and it puts me edge. "Emily..." I say again.

"I know...I feel it too." She breathes out.

I arch my hips to get a better angle and it causes the pull in my belly to grow stronger. Emily moves one of her hands from the side of my head and grabs my hip tightly, guiding me along with her.

The pleasure becomes to much and before I know it a wave of ecstasy takes over my body. I cry out loudly and not to long behind me Emily's moaning out her release as well.

We stay embraced with each other for moments longer, still catching our breath before Emily rolls off of me, landing heavily on the bed beside me.

Silence envelopes the room as we both contemplate what just happened.

I turn to look at her profile but she's still staring at the ceiling. I wonder does she regret what just happened. Or what she's thinking for that matter.

"Did we just have sex?" Emily asks, finally breaking the silence.

I smile softly before turning to look at her. I take her hand left hand in mine.

She's so innocent. It's cute.

"No Em. That's called dry humping." I clarify for her.

She frowns in confusion but she lets a sigh of relief out.

This causes me to frown, a little hurt by her relieved nature.

She looks over at me and reads me like a book. "Not that it'll be a bad thing to have sex with you...it's just I've never done anything like that before and I would rather not rush into something so big you know." She asks giving my hand a squeeze.

I smile at her words and nod my head. "Same." I say reassuringly.

We both turn to face ceiling again. Silence consuming us again.

"So..." Emily starts. "How sure of you that Sean's gay?" She asks as nonchalantly as possible causing me to burst out Laughing.

God, I'm so falling for this girl.

 **So I'm like the worst human being in the world. I hope this was okay as an apology. New update soon!**


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter is dedicated to Shay's Dimple. Thanks for being a trooper and sticking with me even if the story isn't that good. I appreciate the love I receive from everyone. Sorry for taking my sweet time, I owe you guys a lot.**

 **Sorry for the mistakes I've made throughout the chapter, I've been trying to write as much as possible. I didn't edit as well as I should of.**

 **Alison Dilaurentis Must Die:**

 **Episode 14: The Big Game.**

 **Emily's POV.**

 **~x~X~x~ Monday Morning ~x~X~x~**

" _Listen up all you Prancing Cats out in Rosewood Land. Tickets will go on sell for the Home Coming dance at the Pep Rally this Friday. The pep rally will be taking place for fifth hour, so make sure you wear your Yellow and Blue to show your school spirit, especially all the way to the big game this Friday night against Rosewood Academy. Those jokers don't stand a chance against us. So when you show up Be Loud, Be Proud, Be a Prancing Cat!.. And in other news the cafeteria will be serving mystery meat…"_

I zone out the rest of the announcement that Aria's little brother Mike is doing over the PA system as he starts to announce whatever mystery meat our bus driver has ran over today. I'm assuming it's probably that racoon I saw this morning.

Poor little fellow was just crossing the street minding his own business when Mr. Jenkins took him out without even batting an eyelash.

If I find a tire mark in my food today I'm going to make a serious call to the Health Department.

I grab my books, swapping them out with the ones from second period.

"So, how've things been going with Alison?" Hanna asks standing on the side of me.

I jump startled at her surprise presence. "Jesus Hanna! Give me a heart attack why don't you." I say dramatically as I clutch my chest, trying to slow down my racing heart.

Hanna just rolls her eyes at my dramatics then casually leans against the locker next to mine. "You guys seem closer." She notes casually, but I can see the flare in her eyes.

She looks almost jealous.

I shut my locker slowly as I grip the books in my arms closer to my chest. "Yeah, I mean I guess." I say as coolly as I can. "I've been doing what you asked." And then some. But I don't add that part on.

Hanna gives a rueful smile "Who would have known that Lil Emily was such a great actor."

I stop walking then turn to frown at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" I ask confused and mostly shocked by her statement. I'm just doing what she wanted. How can she be mad at me?

Hanna seems to shock herself out of something because I can see the fight leave her eyes as she visibly deflates. "Nothing." She says shoving her hands in her pocket as she breaks eye contact with me. "I just came to say be ready for Friday." She warns.

Again, I frown in confusion. "What's happening Friday?" I ask

Hanna smiles at me, but something seems off about it. "We're going to test how much Alison truly cares about you and your friendship."

My frown deepens. "How do we plan to do that?" I ask shifting my books in my arms.

"Come to the student learning center during lunch and find out." Hanna says. Before I can ask for clarification she's already walking away from me down the hall and out of site.

I stare off in her direction feeling lost.

Like what the hell does she mean test how much Alison cares about our friendship?

And suddenly I have a bad feeling in my tummy. One that I don' t think will go away anytime soon.

I turn to walk towards my class, but I spot Lucas at his locker. I quickly make my way over to him. He's been avoiding me ever since he saw me and Alison making out in Noel's bathroom.

Which was two weeks ago mind you.

"Hey Lucas…" I greet softly as I slowly approach him.

Lucas barely looks up to acknowledge my presence as he continues to rummage through his locker. "Oh, look it's the traitor." He says in a disdainful voice.

I sigh at his words. "I'm not a traitor Lucas…" I defend myself weakly.

"So I didn't catch you making out with the enemy?" he asks sarcastically.

"She's not the enemy. And aren't you being a little hypocritical seeing as though you made out with Sydney that night too!" I throw back in his face.

"That was for a game and you know it. You weren't playing a game…. unless you want to call that tongue hockey, you were quite serious. Like since when are you and Alison even a thing?" he asks with a disgusted look on his face.

"First of all, it's tonsil hockey. Second, we're not really a thing…. well we sort of are, but it's not exclusive. Okay it's kind of exclusive but we're not really open in the public about it." I say fumbling though my explanation.

Lucas just rolls his eyes but chooses not to respond to me.

"Lucas, people change. Alison is not the same person she was a couple of months ago. Hell, I'm not the same person I was months ago. Don't you get that?" I ask, running a frustrated hand through my hair.

Lucas abruptly slams his locker shut, causing me to jump startled along with some innocent bystanders a couple of feet down from his locker. "Yes, people change. You've changed your entire appearance. But you're still the same Emily that gave me half her sandwich one day, when the same girl you're defending, stuffed my sandwich down another kids pants and told me to fish it out with my teeth. So yes, people change, but not her, not overnight. And the fact that you're even defending her makes me think that maybe you were like her all along!" he says turning to walk away from.

"Lucas please-" I say reaching out to grab his arm.

In a haste he pulls out of my grasps, unintentionally shoving me away from him. With me being an athlete, I don't move that far, but the intent is still there.

"Hey what the fuck is your problem?!" I hear a voice behind me say before Lucas is shoved hard against the lockers. "Didn't your mom ever teach you not to hit girls?" CeCe says stepping into his face causing him to cower against the locker. "I thought I told you to lay off before?" she asks menacingly.

"No, CeCe…" I start but she just over talks me.

"How do you think my sister will feel when she finds out that you've pushed Emily?" CeCe threatens, and I can see the color drain from Lucas's face.

Fuck! That's not good!

If Alison find out that he pushed me, she'd make his life a living hell.

"CeCe please stop." I say catching her attention by placing my hand on her shoulder. "He didn't mean to push me it was an accident I grabbed him first." I say causing her to deflate a little. But her glare remains intact.

"Get lost!" she says through gritted teeth and Lucas doesn't hesitate to scram, but not before giving me a fleeting look.

I let out a deep sigh, running my hands through my hair. "You know you didn't have to do that." I say trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

CeCe turns and looks at me incredulously, "Oh, CeCe thank you for coming to my rescue …. again…. I really appreciate your help." She says sarcastically.

Thank her?

Wow she has some nerve.

I don't dignify her with a response I just turn on my heel and set off to my third period.

I hear her let out a sigh behind me. "Em, wait." She says jogging to keep up with my pace. "Look I'm sorry. I don't know what happened back there, but I thought I was helping you." She explains.

"Don't call me that. It's Emily, and you know contrary to your belief I don't need saving all the time. I can fight my own battles. Lucas is as harmless as a fly." I rant as I move swiftly through the halls to get to my class on time.

"Okay, you're right. I'm sorry." CeCe says dejectedly, causing me to slow my pace down. "But not just about that but about what I did a couple weeks ago. I know we haven't talked since then, but it's been weighing heavy on my mind."

I finally stop walking and turn to face her. "You mean when you kissed me?" I ask, even though it sounds more rhetorical then anything.

CeCe shuffles nervously from foot to foot before nodding her head. "Yeah, when I kissed you." She says shoving her hands in her pocket. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I was drunk, I was angry with my sister, and with you for taking her side. One thing led to another and I was making a total ass of myself." She says sadly.

I give her a sympathetic smile. "You didn't make a COMPLETE ass of yourself." I try to add, but she gives me a look that says otherwise. "Okay, you're right. You were the donkey of all asses." I say. We both stare at each other for a moment before we burst into laughter.

CeCe gives me a nervous smile. "Can we just, I don't know, forget about what happened? If I say I'm sorry enough times, will you eventually forgive me?" she asks nervously.

I wave her off. "Water under the bridge." I say offering her a smile, which causes the smile on her face to turn into a genuine one.

She looks at me for a moment before blushing a bright red. "Well, I better get going. My attendance record is going to take a major hit if I'm late." She says nodding in the direction that her class is in. "See you around Emily." She says turning to walk away.

But before she leaves I remember something. "Hey CeCe." I call out causing her to face me again. "Can you just keep what happened today between me and you? Alison doesn't really need to know…." I ask almost pleadingly.

CeCe offers me a smile. "Water under the bridge." She repeats back to me before finishing her trek to class.

I let out a deep breath of relief.

Phew….

Crises avoided.

 **~x~X~x~ Lunch Time ~x~X~x~**

"He did what!?" Alison yells as she slams her tray down on the table.

Damnit CeCe!

I let out a sigh as I push around my unwanted mystery meat.

They didn't even try to make this look edible.

"It's not that big of deal. He barely touched me…." I try to explain but I can literally see the steam coming out of her ears as we speak.

"It doesn't matter Em, he had no right to put his hands on you!" she says through gritted teeth.

"Babe, please don't make this a bigger deal then it needs to be." I try to say softly hoping to calm her down.

She softens slightly at my words but before she can say anything Noel and Mona join us with the rest of the group.

"So, Emily I heard that you go into a fight in the hallway today. Did you at least get a few hits in before you were a bloody pulp?" Noel asks with a smirk as he sits down beside me.

I roll my eyes at his dramatics. "Seriously Noel? Where did you even hear that from?"

"It's all over the gossip halls." Mona chimes in. "Everyone is talking about how you and Hermie got into a fight in the hallway this morning and that CeCe had to step in to stop you guys from shredding each other to pieces." She concludes with a scandals smirk.

Okay, now I know CeCe couldn't have spread that lie.

Someone in the hallway must have saw us.

I mean we weren't that discrete. But come on people!

"Okay, none of that stuff happened. We just talked that's it." I defend.

"Well, that's not what we've heard." Mona says pushing around her food playfully before taking a bite of the mystery meat.

I try my hardest not to cringe, but I can't really help it.

How can she even digest that stuff?

"Well, what you've heard is wrong." I say shooting Mona a quick glare.

"Nevertheless, we have a group of kids in the hall talking about how Lucas went up against the popular group and survived." Noel says, quieting me and Mona's debate. "We can't have that. We have to do something to put that little squirrel in his place." He says waving his fork around.

I frown in confusion. "That little 'squirrel' was just partying with us not to long ago, and you didn't think he was a squirrel then." I defend.

Noel just shrugs. "I party with a lot of people Emily, I don't take it personal." He says like it's nothing.

I have to fight the urge to not strangle him.

"So, what do you think we should do Alison? Powder bomb in the locker? Atomic weggie? Flush his gym clothes in toilet?" Noel asks rubbing his hands together excitedly, causing Mona to roll her eyes.

I watch as Alison's shoulder deflates, she doesn't seem to be calming down, she just seems to be not as tense. "I'm not sure what we'll do for revenge…" Alison says looking me in the eyes as she sits down calmly. I give her a pleading look and she takes a deep breath. "But the boy is to remain untouched until I come to a conclusion."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

I feel a vibration from my pocket, I discretely pull it out, hoping Alison won't question who it is.

 _Hanna: 'What's taking so long? Get your ass up here."_ I read.

I let out another sigh drawing the attention of my friends.

"Everything alright Emily?" Sarah asks

I force a smile and stand from the table. "There's something I actually need to do…..turn in an assignment." I grab all my belongings and turn to leave. "I'll catch you guys later." I rush out ignoring the look Alison is giving me. I don't need her asking questions, especially when I have such a hard time lying to her.

When I enter the student learning center its more abandoned than usual, so it's not hard for me to slip into the back room where Spencer already has her power point set up ready to be shown.

"Sorry I'm late. It was hard getting away without drawing suspension." I say as I take my seat next to Aria. I expect to see irritation on their faces, but Hanna looks like a kid that's got his candy, Spencer looks determined and Aria kind of looks sympathetic.

Okay, what's going on….

"Is everything okay?" I ask skeptically. I glance around but only Hanna will look at me. Spencer is to busy setting up her video projection and Aria won't make eye-contact.

"Nothing much, just in your absence we've come up with a plan." Hanna says excitedly.

"Okay, what's the plan…." I ask hesitantly.

"We attack at the Big game on Friday." Spencer cuts in, finally done connecting her gadgets. She presses a button and the lights slowly dim and projection screen lowers. When she sits down she presses another button and a video of a football game pops up. It shows the football team, and then the bleachers, and then the cheerleaders, and finally the mascot. The Video pauses on him.

"Lucas?" I ask confused.

"Yes." Spencer says swiveling in her chair. "We heard about what happened in the hallway this morning."

I roll my eyes at the mention of this stupid rumor again.

"…and we also know that Alison will stop at nothing to make sure he pays for what he did." Hanna adds.

"I asked her not to." I cut in, but Hanna just laughs and shakes her head.

"Come on…we both know that Alison isn't just going to let what happened go. She's going to seek revenge and she'll do it in the worse way possible." Hanna says.

"Hence the reason why we have this lovely picture of Lucas on the screen." Spencer says pointing at the picture of the mascot on the screen.

"You think she's going to attack at the game on Friday?" I ask curiously.

"Oh, we know she will." Hanna cuts in. "Lucas made a fool of you in front of the entire school, so what better way than to seek a true Alison revenge then to humiliate him in front of the entire school on Friday. I mean, she'd be stupid not to." Hanna says excitedly.

"So, are we going to stop her?" I ask.

"No—" Hanna starts.

"Yes!" Aria cuts in, she cuts Hanna a menacing look causing Hanna to shut up. "We will try to stop her, we just don't know exactly what the plan is. But we do know she will attack Lucas at the game." She finishes, giving me a sympathetic look.

I let out a sigh. "So how does this fall into testing her?" I ask confused.

Hanna smile grows. "We'll just have to wait to see."

I hate the creepy smile that's growing on her face, so I look away from her towards Aria who still looks uncomfortably sympathetic.

"Look we both know that Alison is super over protective about you. So, let's just allow the plan to fester in her mind and when she's ready to strike we'll be right there ready to stop her." Aria promises.

"Okay…" I say skeptically. Before anything else can be said, the bell sounds above us.

Spencer looks down at her watch "Well we better go, I don't want to be late." She says packing up her computer and shutting down the projection system.

Aria stands next. "Yeah I better go to." She offers me a brief smile before turning to leave with Spencer. I turn to see Hanna standing behind me with a smile on her face.

"Cheer up Emily." She says in a cheery voice. "We're one step closer to getting revenge on Alison like we've been planning. We're so close to the finish line, I can almost taste the fall of her kingdom."

I have to bite my tongue to fight off the urge to yell at her. I mean I don't have a reason to yell at her, I'm supposed to be on her side, I'm supposed to want the same thing she wants, but as we all know that's not the case.

So instead of saying what I want to say I just force a smile and nod my head excitedly. "I know, I'm excited too." I say instead.

Hanna gives me an apprehensive smile before she turns to leave out the door with the rest of the girls.

I let out a deep sigh when they're out of sight and lean against the wall.

This is going to be a fucking disaster.

X~x~X Later that Day X~x~X

I let out a huge sigh as the last bell of the day rings.

Thank god!

Today has been a disaster. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

If I had to rank this day it'd definitely be in the top ten of worst days ever. So many people were staring at me. I could literally hear the whispers floating around me.

It was so weird to be the center of attention with nothing but negative words floating around me.

The ladies didn't make it any better. They're excited to see that the gossip isn't dying. The longer it stays relevant the harsher the punishment for Lucas will be and honestly, I have no clue how to stop Alison once she's passed the point of pissed off.

"Emily?" I hear a voice call out shaking me out of my day dreaming. "Are you okay?" Paige asks.

"Uh…" I say looking around at the now empty classroom. "Yeah…I'm fine." I stand up and grab all of my belongings. "Sorry, I must have zoned out."

Paige laughs. "I think I did that the entire class period." She says "Practice starts in twenty minutes; do you want to walk together?" she asks with a shrug.

I nod my head and follow Paige out the door towards the pool area.

We walk in silence for a moment. The first time I've heard the silence today.

"So, I hate to be that person but, did Lucas really kick your teeth in this morning in the hallway?" She asks skeptically.

I can't help the deep sigh that escapes me as I roll my eyes at her question. "No. He never touched me." I say.

Paige just lets out a small laugh. "I figured the rumors were false. That doesn't even sound like Lucas. I mean he has the muscle mass of a kitten, I'm sure he couldn't even bench press a worm." She jokes.

And for the first time today I actually laugh. I shake my head at her childish antics as we make our way into the locker room.

Clearly, we're the last ones in site as all the girls exit out and into the pool area for their own personalized stretching.

"Well you maybe right about his muscle strength, but that doesn't change the fact that if he could he'd probably use that worm to strangle me." I say sitting stuffing my things inside of my locker and sitting down on the bench with a plop.

Paige frowns at me. "So, you two did get into a fight?" she asks curiously.

"Sadly yes." I take a deep breath as I stand to start getting dressed. I strip off my shirt and I don't miss the way Paige discreetly checks out my torso. "He's pissed about me hanging out with Alison." I explain as I toss my shirt into my locker.

Paige nods her head slowly. "Yeah, about that. It's kind of weird right. Hanging out with someone who tortured us for so long."

I roll my eyes again. "I know people are tired of hearing me say that she's changed but she has. She's not the person that everyone thinks she is. She's sweeter and softer, she's considerate and caring." I say a smile gracing my face as I picture Alison in my head. I realize I've zoned off and when I turn to look at Paige she has a knowing look on her face.

"Wow…." She says. "And I thought Alison was transparent." She says with a laugh as she shuts her locker tying her hair into a tight bun.

I have no clue as to what she's talking about. So, I toss her a confused look.

Paige looks back at me with a smile while shaking her head. "You two like each other, it's so obvious."

My eyes widen slightly. I open my mouth to talk but I can feel the stutter playing on my lips. I take a deep breath before I begin to speak. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Paige laughs and gives me another knowing look. "Come on Emily don't be so dense, I'm not slow. I know when someone fancies another person. You two obviously have the hots for each other. I mean obviously I don't judge…I mean hello." She says gesturing to herself. "I just think it's pretty ironic that Alison outed me for being gay but turns out she's a big homo herself." She says picking up her towel and googles ready to exit the locker room.

I quickly grab my things and turn on my heels to exit the locker room first. "I don't know what you're talking about." I rush out but before I can leave her sight, she grabs my arm and spins me around.

"Emily listen, it's not that I'm judging you for having feelings for her. I just want you to be careful." She says sincerely. "I know that she seems sincere in her feelings, but you should still watch your back, sometimes a snake only attacks when you're trying to pet it." She warns before leaving before I do.

I let out a sigh before joining her out in the swim room.

~x~X~x~ After School ~x~X~x~

When I pull up in front of my house, I notice that Alison's car is parked out front.

I'm curious as to why she's at my house right now. Last time we talked she was angry at me for leaving the table in the middle of our conversation and refused to text me back all day.

I let out a weary sigh as make my way up to my house. When I enter, I notice that the entire downstairs is empty, and a note on the hallway table.

Great, my mom is at her book club down the street, so she won't be home anytime soon.

But if she's gone then where the hell is Alison.

I turn and make my way up the stairs towards my bedroom where I notice a light on in my room.

When I enter my heart nearly melts at the sight of Alison napping on my bed as she's wrapped in my swim hoodie.

I bite my lip as I approach my bed quietly. I sit on the edge careful not to disturb her to much, even though I'm about to wake her up.

She looks so innocent and seeing her in my sweater is so heartwarming.

"Babe." I say softly as I gently remove the hair out her face. She only stirs a little before she snuggles into my hoodie some more. I laugh a little as she turns away from me. So, I try again.

"Ali…" I call out again, this time a little bit louder. I smile when she flutters her eyes open. "Hey…" I say softly.

Alison sits up slowly, looking around my room. "What time is it?" she asks rubbing the sleep out her eyes.

"A little after 6:00." I say looking at the clock on my bed side table. "How long have you been asleep?" I ask.

"As soon as school ended, I came here to wait for you to get out of practice." She gives me a small smile. "Your mom was here for a little while, we talked while she made snacks for her book club meeting, by the way she wanted me to tell you that dinner is in the microwave, warm it up when you get home." She says sitting up fully and leaning against my headboard.

I give her a soft smile before moving to sit against the headboard with her. "So, I take it you being here is either a sign of forgiveness for earlier, or you want to talk about it." I say.

She lets out a sigh. "Both, I guess." She says looking away from me.

I frown in confusion. "I don't get why you're so mad at me. What happened earlier was all a big misunderstanding…I swear he did nothing to me. I don't know why you're making a big deal out of nothing." I reason.

Alison sighs and rolls her eyes. "I'm not making a big deal out of nothing. He embarrassed you in front of everyone and now everyone is expecting me to retaliate for you. Even if he didn't do anything the school won't let it go, therefore I can't let it go." She explains.

I let out a dramatic sigh at her explanation. "You don't have to give in to peer pressure Ali, I know this is high school but you're also consciously aware of what you're doing. You have all the power in the world to stop this from happening." I reason again.

Alison just shakes her head at me. "It's not that simple."

"Or maybe it's simpler than you think it is…" I argue back.

We end up in this small staring contest before Alison looks away from me.

"Maybe I should just go, because clearly we'll never see eye to eye on this." She says tossing off the blankets covering her legs and swinging her legs over the side of my bed ready to make her exit. But I quickly grab her puling her back towards me.

"Don't." I say firmly. I gently grab her chin and turn her head towards me. "I'm sorry for pressuring you. I know how hard this must be on you, but I also want you to understand that I can't agree with retaliation." I say softly. "We're not going to see eye to eye on this so can we at least just let it go for now? Please?" I ask.

Alison seems to deflate. "Okay." She whispers out.

I smile and give her lips a soft peck, but when I try to pull back, she grips the back of my neck and pull me in closer for a deeper kiss.

She leans back against my bed dragging me along with her until I'm draped over her body. With my clumsiness and her pulling me off balance I fall on top of her. We both let out a giggle as I try and pick myself up. "Sorry…" I say but she just pecks my lips.

"It's okay." She whispers before kissing me deeply again. I grip the sheets on the side of her head as I move in between her legs. She wraps her legs around my waist tightly.

"You are getting really good at this." She mutters in between kisses. I can feel her rutting her hips up against mines, the process causes me to moan deeply against her lips.

I kiss her lips once more before pulling away from her. "I'm getting the feeling that your either trying to have a repeat of last time, or…" I trail off with a grunt as she pumps her hips roughly against mine. "something more…" I breath out as she starts kissing down my neck. "Gosh Alison…" I moan out.

Honestly after our hot make-out session last week, I've been thinking about going all the way with her.

I wondered if I was ready because of just hormones and rather or not that it was the best decision to make based off my horny state of mind.

I wondered whether I'd be emotionally ready to take that step with her.

I mean I only ever planned on losing my virginity to someone I loved deeply. Not someone who I wasn't supposed to like but find myself in awe of. But it caused me to wonder whether I truly felt strongly for Alison. I mean I know I like her, but do I really…love her? That's a big stretch, right?

"I wouldn't mind doing more…" Alison says pulling me out my thoughts.

I can't stop my eyes from widening and the large spit wad that I gulp down.

"Uh…."

*phone vibrates*

Whew, saved by the phone.

"Uh…I have to get that." I say slowly climbing off of her and walking over to my phone.

I have several messages, two from Hanna, one from Aria and one from Maya. Hmm, that's interesting.

 _ **Aria: "Hey girly! Just checking in on you. I know Hanna hasn't been taking it easy on you, but I want you to know that I'm here if you need me**_ **.**

Aria is so sweet.

 _ **Maya: "Hey Emily, I haven't heard from you in a little while. I was hoping that we could meet up again…I don't know…hang out. Strictly platonic of course…**_

Hmm that's something to consider. Probably wouldn't be a good idea to tell Alison about that.

 _ **Hanna: "I hope I didn't piss you off today, you seemed a little angry with me…"**_

I wasn't angry with her. I was…well yes, I was angry with her, but I shouldn't be. She's sticking to the plan and I'm going of course. I just don't know what to do so I'm a little off course. If anything, she should be mad at me.

 _ **Hanna: "Also I found this amazing top at the mall today and I remember buying you the perfect shoes to match. I'm on my way over to take them off your hands."**_

Just as the message reads on my screen, I hear my front door open and Hanna bounding up the stairs.

"Em I know you're here! I saw your car in the driveway!" Hanna says closing in up the stairs.

I turn to see Alison sit up on my bed with a confused frown on her face. "Is that Hanna Marin?" She asks standing up from my bed. "When did you two become friends?" she asks crossing her chest.

"I uh—" but before I can finish my sentence Hanna bursts through my bedroom door.

"Damn bitch you couldn't greet a girl at the door—" Hanna starts but pauses when she sees a stunned looking Alison standing next to me. "Didn't know you had company…"

"I didn't know you two knew each other." Alison says folding her arms across her chest confused.

"Uhh…" I say looking between the both of them "Of course I know Hanna, we're—"

"Science Partners." Hanna says jumping in. "We're science partners, and I was coming over to borrow her notes for our upcoming test." Hanna lies easily.

"Right!" I say adding on. "Science partners, and I have those notes right here." I say walking over to my backpack and digging out my science notes and handing her a folder.

"Thanks." Hanna says taking the folder out of my hand. "Well I'll be going now..." She says pointing to the door over her shoulder. "But first I'll just be taking my shoes back" she says grabbing those heels that I bought the last time we went shopping. "I guess I left those…" she says turning to the door. "Bye now." And with that she disappears.

I watch her leave and listen to her shut my front door. Damn that was close.

I turn around to see Alison staring at me with a frown on her face.

I let out a nervous laugh as I scratch the back of my neck. "Hanna Marin folks." I joke, but that doesn't even crack a smile across Alison's face.

"So, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you and Hanna aren't science partners…and please do me a favor and don't lie to me. It's obvious that she didn't come over here for notes, I don't think I've ever seen Hanna do her work in class let alone outside of it." Alison says.

I would have laughed if she didn't look so serious right now, because I've never seen Hanna do her work either. Cuticle care yes, homework no.

"Okay." I say letting out a sigh then walk over to sit on my bed. "We're not science partners, we're friends."

Alison walks over and sits next to me. "Why couldn't you just tell me that?" she asks confused.

"I didn't want you to be upset. I hear the rumors about how you two hate each other." I say taking her hands in mine. "I'm sorry I wasn't being honest with you…" I can't help the rush of guilt I feel when thinking about all the things I'm actually lying to her about. This isn't even the top of the cake.

Alison lifts my hand up to her mouth and kisses lightly across my knuckles. "It's okay. You shouldn't have to pick your friends based off of who I don't hate or who doesn't actually hate me, because trust me if you did that then you'd be limited to maybe just five people." She jokes with a self-deprecating laugh before looking down at her fingers.

I give her hands a squeeze before moving to squat down in front of her. I place my hands on her thighs and rub gently across them. "If only you'd show people this side of you, maybe then they'll realize how amazing you truly are." I say with an honest smile.

She finally looks up at me, her eyes studying my face to see if my words are true or not. "People won't remember the nice version of me, only the ice queen" she says sadly.

I study her expression. She seems really broken up about what she's saying. "Well I will, because to me she's really beautiful." I say before leaning up and kissing her lips softly.

The smile that adorns her face afterwards is breathtaking and I could die right now happier than ever knowing that I put it there.

~x~X~x~ Thursday Afterschool ~x~X~x~

"Alright ladies push it out!" I hear coach Fulton yell over the water rushing in my ears.

I push as hard as I can, kicking my legs and stretching my arms as far as they go.

I can't seem to hear much of anything besides coach's voice, but I know the girls are on the side lines of the pool cheering on, and I can hear my heart beat slamming through my chest at the adrenaline I'm feeling.

"TIME!" Coach Fulton yells as my hand touches the wall.

I quickly rise out of the water, ripping my goggles off my face before pulling myself out the water. Not a second later Paige McCullers is following me.

"Who won?" she asks eagerly. Probably just as eager as I felt.

"It was a close race this time…" she says staring at her timer as the girls all crowd around her waiting with bated breath. "But...Emily is still our anchor." She announces causing all the girls around to erupt in cheer and congratulate me.

I let out a sigh of relief but contain my smile as I turn to see Paige forcing one upon her face. "You're getting faster." I compliment.

She lets out a deep sigh before turning towards the bleachers to grab her towel. "Not fast enough." She comments dryly.

I open my mouth to say something, but I can't think of anything that would make her feel better. I force a sympathetic smile before turning to grab my towel and head to the locker room with Paige following behind me.

When we enter the locker room most girls are already gone, and the ones that's still around are filtering out of the locker room.

I love being the last one in the locker room. It always gives me a sense of calm after swimming to have time to think to myself without the girls hassling me with questions.

"So, are you excited about the big game tomorrow?" Paige asks with a teasing smile.

I give her dry look. "Super excited." I say sarcastically.

Paige lets out a laugh as she grabs her bag, I'm assuming she's skipping the shower here. "I hear there's supposed to be this huge halftime thing happening. The entire school has been talking about it." She says with a curious frown.

I freeze in motion, as I feel the blood run cold through my veins.

Everyone has been talking about the halftime thing…

Shit this thing is really happening and I have no idea what the hell is this thing even is.

"Oh…I don't know what you're talking about, I haven't heard anything." I say half lying and half telling the truth.

Paige just shrugs before slamming her locker shut. "Well whatever it is, I hear it's going to be epic. Catch you later." She says walking out of the locker room.

I let out a deep breath before grabbing my towel and turning towards the shower. Grateful that I'm finally alone. I turn the shower on to the hottest setting before stepping under the spray, again this time for the heat of the water.

As much as I want to take my time, I also want to go home and crawl under my comforter. Today has been long and stressful, and all the rumors about tomorrow just makes me feel bad and helpless for what's about to happen to Lucas. I was really hoping that I could stop Alison, but she seems hellbent on proving her status to be worthier of protecting then our relationship.

Maybe I should take that as a sign that she really doesn't like me as much as I thought she did. But I also know that she's worked hard on building her reputation and succumbs to a lot of peer pressure, especially from Mona and Noel.

I turn the water off and step from under the water. When I enter the locker room, again the silence surrounds me before I quickly toss on my clothes and exit.

When I enter the parking lot, I turn my phone on and notice that I have a few missed calls from Alison. I quickly hit redial and call her back. She picks up on the second ring.

"Hey babe..." I say into the receiver not even trying to hide the smile on my face.

" _Hey…"_ She says back warmly. _"What took you so long to call me back?"_ She asks curiously.

"Sorry, I decided to shower at the school. The team was gone so all the hot water belonged to me." I say excitedly.

She lets out a giggle. _"Well make sure you moisturize, you know what hot water can do to your skin."_ She warns playfully.

"Already on it babe." I say getting into my car and slamming the door shut. I set my bag on the passenger seat before turning it on. "Are you coming over for dinner tonight, or are you just sneaking into my window afterwards?" I ask pulling out of my parking spot and heading home.

" _Hmm depends…what's for dinner?"_ she asks in a sultry voice.

I must bite my lip to fight back the smile threatening to split my face. "Okay, only you can make sloppy joe sound sexy." I say.

She lets out a laugh. _"Hmm sounds delicious. So how about I do both?"_ she says temptingly.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you at 7?" I state more than I question.

" _Yeah babe see you… I lo—Bye."_ She says quickly before hanging up.

I stare at my phone with a frown. That was weird.

It doesn't take long before I'm pulling up into the driveway, I frown when I see a figure sitting on my porch.

I know my mom is in the house so they couldn't have knocked. She would have let them in and offered her tea.

I get out of the car grabbing my bag along the way. "Hey…Maya?" I ask, when the figure looks up it confirms my suspicions. "What are you doing here?" I ask curiously. "We're not scheduled for any dates or anything are we?" I ask jokingly.

Maya stands up with a laugh shaking her head. "No. Nothing like that. I just happened to be in the neighborhood visiting a friend, and I noticed that I haven't talked to you in a couple of days, so I decided to stop by. You weren't home and your mom said I could wait outside for you." She says with a shrug.

"Okay." I say only mildly creeped out that she was waiting for me to get home unannounced. "Uh do you want to come in?" I ask, walking up my porch and entering my house with her right on my heels. "Hey mom I'm home!" I announce.

"Hi Emmy." My mom says walking out of the kitchen wiping her hand with a towel. "Dinner will be ready in an hour. If your friend wants to stay that's fine." She says with a tightlipped smile. I'm sure Maya showing up unannounced caught her off guard to.

"Oh no, I'm fine Mrs. Fields. I just ate dinner with a friend. I'll be out of your hair shortly." Maya says with a smile.

I hang my sweater on the front hook and toss the keys into the bowl on the table. "Hey mom could you set a plate for Alison, she'll be joining us for dinner." I ask and I can see my mom's face light up at the mention of Alison's and my heart does a summersault at the sight of it.

"Okay. See you in an hour honey." My mom says before re-entering the kitchen.

"We can go up to my room." I say leading Maya up the stairs, into my bedroom. When I enter my room, I toss my bag on my computer chair and I flop down on my bed while Maya flops down on the pillow bed underneath my window.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" I ask running my hands up and down my legs nervously. IF I remember correctly, she was friends with Hanna, which means at one point in time she was friends with Alison, which means if Alison see's her here she'll have a conniption fit. Especially at the site of running into all her old friends in my house.

"I didn't want to talk about much. I just noticed somethings that peaked my curiosity." She says with a suspicious look.

I raise an eyebrow curiously, Maya takes that as my cue to continue.

"I guess I'm just going to come out and say it. Are you and Alison dating?" she asks bluntly.

I freeze momentarily. I wanted to just say yes casually but I need to remember that I may be out, but Alison is still in the closet. To the outside world we're just friends.

"I mean it makes sense…" she continues, taking my silence as an answer. "You guys are always together, and you knew Hanna first, so she had to like introduce you two or something because we both know they were super close at one point." She rambles then finally looks up at me. "I won't tell if that's what your wondering. I know how to keep a secret, especially Alison's secrets… It's just that ever since I stopped hanging out with the girls I'm always kept out of the loop, and lately I've been missing…I don't know everything." Maya says shrugging her shoulders.

I slowly stand up from my bed and walk over to shut my door quietly. "I don't…" I squeeze my eyes closed and let out a sigh. "I don't know what you want me to say."

Maya shifts her body so she's facing me. "Like I said, I know how to keep my mouth shut when it comes to secrets. I came over to see if my suspicions were true and if I could offer some advice. Make sure that you allow her to lead, but not take advantage of you. She might be a hard ass to the outside world, but Alison's very sensitive. So, allow her to lead and take her time if you want to stay with her for a while." She then let's out a laugh "I have no idea why Hanna decided to hook you two up knowing their history but for whatever reason she thinks you two make a cute couple, so..." she trails off.

Her Hanna statement has me scrunching my face up in confusion. What history besides friendship do they have? This is the second time someone's said something about them and left it as a vague statement.

I think instead of asking Maya though, I should definitely ask Alison these questions.

'But I guess that's all I came over for really." She says patting her legs before standing up. "I know it seems weird that I'm coming out of the blue with this extended hand of help, but I'm not a bad guy, I really just want to help out. I know how tangled things could get with these girls." She then walks towards my door. "If you need anything from me, don't hesitate to text me." She gives my arm a slight squeeze before she leaves.

I take a deep breath before resting my head against the wall beside my door.

~x~X~x~ An hour Later ~x~X~x~

"Dinner was great Mrs. Fields." Alison says as she sets her fork down on her empty plate. "Would you like some help clearing the table?" she asks raising from her chair.

"None sense, please sit." My mom says ushering Alison to sit down in her chair. "It gives me something to do before bedtime, you ladies go on up and watch a movie or something. I'll take care of the cleaning."

"But…" Alison starts to say before I take her hand a tug her closer to me.

"Quit while you're ahead Alison, the Fields are a stubborn breed." I say, pulling her towards the stairs.

My mom laughs and shakes her head. "You're the one to talk Emmy." She says swinging her towel in the air at my direction.

"I said it didn't I." I say with a laugh and my mom just smiles fondly at me.

I quickly pull Alison up the stairs with me and into my bedroom. I shut and lock my door…for just in case purposes of course.

Alison's already making herself at home by flopping on my bed, I walk over and put a DVD on, not really caring which one I actually placed in the DVD chamber. It's more for background noise if anything.

Alison scoots up to the head board and I take my place nestling up to her body and resting my head on her chest. Alison smiles and entangles her fingers with mine.

"God, I missed you so much today." She says placing a kiss on my forehead. I blush slightly and look up at her with a cheesy smile on my face.

"You did huh…" I ask kissing her gently on the lips. "My, my, Miss Dilaurentis if I didn't know any better, I would mistake you for being smitten with me." I say teasingly.

Alison squeezes my fingers and gives me look so lovingly it causes a deep pull in my lower stomach. The feeling makes me slightly uncomfortable. "I think I'm more than smitten." She says kissing me gently but deeper this time. When she pulls away the look in her eyes amplify if that's even possible. "I really like you Emily. And I've been doing some thinking and I don't think that no one has ever made me feel as happy and safe as you've made me feel. I don't know what it is but I just know that I don't want to live without you…" she trails off taking a deep breath before sitting up, pulling me along with her. "I want to say something, but I don't want to freak you out. Okay?"

I swallow the lump in my throat and nod my head slowly.

"I…" she clears her throat then scoots even closer to me. "I think I'm ready to take our relationship public." She says with finality.

My eyes widen subconsciously.

She wants to come out to the school…?

For me..?

But why would she do that…

"W-Why?" I stutter out.

Her face seems to drop in disappointment at my reaction. "I just…I don't know. The more I think about you the more I think that I want the world to know how much I lo—how much you mean to me." Alison stutters out.

I swallow the second lump in my throat then stand up running my hand through my hair.

I mean don't get me wrong. I want to come out publicly with my relationship with Alison.

More than anything.

But with everything going on. The girls expecting me to end her reputation and then the prank on Lucas tomorrow at the halftime show. I don't even think we'll be together after this damn thing is over with. It's to much drama and I know she'll hate me in the end. I just want her to have some sort face value in the end. And coming out is stripping all of her power from her. I know that was the plan, but I know that I don't want her to do that anymore. Especially for me.

I care about her to much…I care so deeply for her.

I slowly sit back on the bed and take her hands in mine. "I don't know if that's such a good idea." I say honestly.

She frowns in confusion. "Why not?"

"Ali…I. I'm not worth ruining your reputation over. You've worked so hard and now you're willing to put everything on the line for something that we don't even know will last past this year…" I say honestly.

Alison rips her hands away from me and stands up from my bed. "You don't think we'll last?" she asks in a hurt tone.

My eyes widen in realization at what I just said. "I didn't mean it that way Alison. I'm just saying we never know what the future hold, so maybe we should wait until we're sure this is a sure thing." Or until after everything dies down and nothing can come back to bite me in the ass.

"Okay I get it." She says nodding her head. Her face become very stone like. "We're just going to be fuck buddies until something better comes along for you. Gotcha." She says in a steely voice.

I jump from my bed and move closer to her.

"Don't!" she says holding her hand up. "I think I can walk myself out." She unlocks the door then storm out.

Of course I chase after her. "Alison wait!" I yell running down the stairs after her. I fly pass my mom who's watching our interaction with curiosity.

I'm not quick enough to stop Alison from leaving the house but I do catch her before she gets into her car. I quickly grab her arm and push her up against the door of car. "Alison please just listen to me." I say desperately.

Alison pushes me off of her and attempts to get into her car, but I stop her again. "I've heard enough Emily. I've heard you loud and clear. I know you don't expect much from us, but I expect the world and it's obvious we're not on the same page and I don't know if I want to stick around to hear you give me the 'it's not you, it's me' lecture. I'd rather save my dignity while I can." She says with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Alison! That's not what I was going to say at all. I don't want us to ever be apart. I think the world of you too!" I say grabbing her by her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. "I didn't mean what you think I meant upstairs. I'm just saying your so perfect and I don't think you should risk everything on me, I'm not even worth it."

Alison shoves my chest causing me to wince in pain. "You don't get to make that choice!" she yells at me. "God, Emily! I'm sick of you making these choices for us because you have some sort of complex that you're not good enough for me when I think your perfect! Why can't you just see that." She says shoving me again.

This time I allow the distance between us. "I'm not as good as a person as you think I am Alison." I say deflated. "I'm truly not worth what you want to give me." I say honestly.

"Yeah, well I'm not a perfect person either and yet you give me everything you want to give. How is that fair? Maybe we're both just imperfectly perfect for each other." She reasons.

I shake my head fighting back the tears in my eyes.

"I'm hurting so many people right now." I say sadly.

"Yeah, well I've left my fair share of bodies behind." She says with a shrug. "Just stop trying to self-sabotage our relationship. Why can't you let us be…?" she asks in a hurt tone.

"Ali—" I say stepping up to grab her hand, but she pulls back from me.

"No." Alison says with finality as she opens her car door and gets inside. She slams it shut and starts her engine. "I need sometime away from you Emily, and you need to figure out if you really want to be with me, because obviously you don't know what you want." And with that she pulls out of my driveway and down the street.

I watch hopelessly as she disappears down the street.

Fuck!

Did I just get dumped?

I rub the tears from my face and walk back, sulking towards my house. When I look up my mom is standing on the porch with a sympathetic look. I can't even look her in the eyes when I make to move pass her.

"Is she upset because that girl was over here? Does she think you were cheating on her?" My mom asks casually.

I freeze in my step.

My head whips around so fast to face my mom I'm afraid that I have whip lash.

"What?" I say my mouth opening and closing like a fish. "I don't…mom…" I trail off not know how to respond.

My mom just gives me a small smile as she sits down on the porch. She pats the spot next to her and I obediently sit down.

"Emily I might be quiet but I'm not stupid, I think I realized long ago how well you and Alison get along. I mean maybe a little to well. I watch how she looks at you and how you look at her and I can tell when someone is smitten with my daughter." My mom says with a small smile. "I just didn't want to ask you just in case you weren't ready to talk about it yet."

"Do you hate me?" I ask in a quiet voice, tears threatening to fall.

"What?!" my mom asks incrediously. "I could never hate you Emmy. You're my little girl, and I love you no matter what. I do wish you would have come to me when you started feeling differently towards girls, but I still love you and I'm just happy you're alive and healthy." She says honestly before taking my hands in hers.

I give her a grateful smile before resting my head on her shoulder. "I love you too." I say, feeling a huge boulder lifted from my shoulder.

"So, let's talk." My mom says placing her hands on her knees. "Why are you fighting with Alison. I think she's a wonderful young lady. I can't imagine what you could of did to make her so upset at you. Was it the other girl thing?"

I sigh lifting my head off of her shoulder and shaking my head. "She's upset at me because I practically forced her to stay in the closet." I say sadly.

My mom frowns. "Why would you do that Emmy?" she asks curiously.

"Because ma, she's super popular and if she comes out, she's risking everything for me, and I don't want her to do that. I'm not worth it." I say honestly.

"Emmy you're an amazing young lady and I don't think that you should ever think so lowly of yourself." My mom says in a scolding tone.

I sigh. "I've done some bad things recently ma, not even you would be proud of me." I say quietly.

This time It's my mom's turn to sigh. "Oh Emmy, nothing you've done in the past can't be undone. If you made a mistake or did something that hurts someone, the best thing to do is own up to what you've done, correct your mistakes and when you've done all that you could do then you walk away. Never give up because of guilt. That's what cowards do." My mom says wisely. "You're not a coward Emily, you're a strong girl. Just like me and your father raised you to be." She pulls away and looks at me. "No matter what you've done, it's never to late to fix it." She says with finality.

I just hope she's right.

~x~X~x~ Friday Night's Big Game ~x~X~x~

" _ANOTHER 30 YARD GAME BY NUMBER 5, SEAN ACKARD!"_ the announcer yells and the crowd all stands cheering loudly.

Every, except for me of course.

I kind of hate that guy.

Of course, it has nothing to do with the fact that he's going to the homecoming dance with Alison.

Pfft…That would just be silly.

"Would you stop glaring at the guy. I'm sure he can feel your gamma rays from all the way up here." CeCe says with a laugh.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. I'm not doing anything." I lie with a shrug.

"Right…" she trails off as she stands up with the crowd and cheers on another yard gained.

I guess since Hanna is a cheerleader and Spencer works technology for the halftime board, and Aria well, Aria's sitting next to Noel and the popular kids. They've been sort of joined at the hips ever since he announced them going to the home coming dance together. I could see the way Ezra has been looking at her lately. I know he's really pissed off about her dating Noel.

I wonder did she dump him or is she using him as a beard, like Alison is with Sean.

I should remember to ask her.

I turn to my side to see Paige watching the game with a bored expression on her face. She's expressing what I'm feeling on the inside.

"Enjoying the game?" I ask sarcastically.

Paige just rolls her eyes at me and lets out a grunt in annoyance.

I laugh and shake my head turning back to the game. I look up at the score board and see that we have 3 minutes left before Halftime comes. I can practically feel the crowd buzzing with excitement. I'm just buzzing with nerves.

I watch as the Noel, Mona, and the rest of the popular kids stand up and make their way towards the locker room. Aria doesn't follow them, she just turns and looks at me with a knowing look on her face.

"I'll be back." I say making my way down the bleachers following the popular crowd, Aria gets up and follows right behind me, when we get out of eye shot Aria grabs my arm and spins me to face her.

"What are you doing?" she asks confused.

"I'm going to see what they're up to." I say with finality.

"You can't." she says stopping me from leaving again. "If they see you, they'll know you're up to something."

I let out a puff of air and run a hand threw my hair roughly. "Fine. But what am I supposed to do? I can't just stand aside and let them prank Lucas"

"The goal was to get Alison to stop from doing it. The point was to see if you could have the influence on her to make her want to be a better person. But if she goes through with this…then we know where we stand as far as you two go." Aria says sadly.

I let out another grunt and stomp the ground like a child. "This sucks!" I say frustratedly.

I haven't even seen Alison all day. She's been avoiding me like the plague. I know she's still mad at me about yesterday. She's made that perfectly clear with ignored text messages and missed phone calls.

Which is even more horrible at this point seeing as though I can't seem to find her and stop what's going on.

"It's going to be okay Emily." Aria says breaking me out of my thought process and touching my arm lightly. "It'll all work out." She says with less confidence then she started with.

"Yeah, maybe…" I say.

Aria gives me a sympathetic look before turning on her heels and leaving, probably to find Spencer.

I let out a deep breath just as the announcer announces halftime. I step to the side as all the football players come moving pass me. I cover my nose as I smell the sweat just rolling off them.

Once they disappear, I walk towards the railings to see the cheerleaders take the field. The crowd cheering even louder for them. I can see the stands anticipation coming from them, many of them taking out their cameras to record the performance.

Hanna is standing bright and center with Samara. She has the biggest brightest smile on her face.

I can just bet that it's from what's about to happen.

The routine starts and the crowd jumps to their feet.

I watch as Hanna dance and smile her way through the routine, cheering her way in the hearts of the crowd. Samara right next to her giving her a loving smile as they hit back flips together.

Interesting.

I turn to see Spencer working the sound board for the music. She gives a thumbs up to a guy who turns the spot light onto the Prancing Cat Mascot running out onto the field.

Lucas…

The crowd irrupts into cheer as he begins hitting back flips.

It's like everything is beginning to move in slow-motion.

I'm entranced by everything happening on the field. I keep looking at the crowd to see if I notice any crazy movements but then I notice something strange in the crowd.

Is that...Lucas?

I squint my eyes to make sure I'm not making this up.

That's fucking Lucas in the crowd.

And if that's him, then who is in that costume?

I hear noise behind me and turn to see Noel and his crew coming up behind me, they all have bags in their hands that's dripping juice from it.

Eww, I can smell the raw meat. How long did they leave that meat out? No screw that I think I've just figured out what they plan on doing to him.

Except it's not him… it's someone else.

I scan the crowd again trying to think of who it could possibly be.

Then an idea pop into my head…but it couldn't be…could it?

I turn and look at the cheerleaders again as the mascot does another flip.

I hear the snickers behind me as they set up whatever sling shot, they plan on pelting the mascot with.

I react on instinct and jump the railing and before I know what I'm doing, I'm sprinting as fast as I can towards the field as the cheerleaders wrap up their routine.

The crowd is cheering and phones are flashing brightly from the crowd. As on cue the cheerleaders begin backing away from the Mascot. Leaving "him" alone in the center.

I look over my shoulder as the Noel begins to pull back the sling shot. Everything is deathly quiet as the crowd waits for the impact.

"ALISON!" I scream just as the sling shot is released.

"Alison?" I hear Mona whisper in shock.

It's like I'm racing against time. But the thought of Alison getting embarrassed in front of the entire school in order to protect Lucas is pushing me forward.

Damnit how long is this field?!

By the time I get to her, I only have enough time to push her out of the way before the first bag of raw meet collides with my back, knocking me down.

I hear the crowd gasps as the music stops playing.

There's nothing but complete silence as the entire crowd looks on in shock.

"Emily!" I hear a muffled voice scream out before I'm being lifted off the ground. "What the hell were you thinking?" Alison asks ripping off the mascot head.

The crowd lets out another gasp when they see Alison is the mascot.

"Me?!" I ask standing up and dusting the dirt off my jeans. "What were you thinking? They were about to hurt you! And you were about to just let them hurt you!" I say incredulously

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head at me. "I know that. That's why I took the hit. Better me them him. Isn't that what you wanted…" she says with tears in her eyes.

I shake my head. "No! I didn't want that. I didn't want this at all. I just wanted you to stop this from happening not replace him in the beating. God why would you think that?" I ask bewildered by her statement.

She lets out shrug and shrinks back from my confused stare.

I let out a sigh running my hands through my hair. I finally turn to see the crowd still staring at us in shock, waiting to see what we do next. I turn to see Hanna staring with a frown on her face, and Spencer and Aria staring at us with shocked expressions.

Noel and Mona finally run over to us. "Alison what the hell!" Mona says.

"Why the hell are you dressed like the school mascot?" Noel asks. "You know we were pranking Lucas, why would you take the fall for him?" he asks confused.

Alison seems to gather herself and steps back from me, ignoring Noel and Mona, before walking up to the front of the stadium and grabbing the mic that's positioned there.

"Is this funny to you?!" she asks and the entire crowd. Everyone remains silent as Alison continues. "Is being publicly humiliated funny to you? I don't think Lucas would have thought it was funny if he was in this uniform. But I'm sure you would have."

I watch as everyone starts putting down their phones and look down in shame.

"If you're wondering why I'm standing here, dressed in this ridiculous thing, well…I did it to protect Lucas. My friend…from my other friends." She says disappointedly. "The point of this was to prove that it's not cool to just make fun of someone because of who they are. The point to all of this..." She says gesturing to herself. "Was to prove that we are not all above the laws of the school. We all are the same underneath, and we deserve to be treated the same." She turns and looks at him. "I'm sorry Emily for not listening to you earlier this week and stopping this from happening. And I'm sorry Lucas." She says before turning to look at Lucas in the crowd who also has a shocked look on his face. "I'm sorry for not standing up for you. You didn't deserve the treatment you got this week. You didn't deserve to have a target on your back or for the entire school to watch you become a dead man walking. Guys…" she says to the crowd. "We have to do better…including me…I have to do better." She turns to face me, with a sad expression before she takes off running off the field.

It's a moment of silence before the crowd slowly starts clapping and everyone surrounding Lucas gives him pats on the shoulder or hugs to show their support.

I give one last fleeting look to Noel and Mona and I see the look on Hanna's face before I take off running, again, after Alison.

I find her in the locker room taking off that ridiculous costume. She turns to look at me and I can see her shaking her head at me ready to start her argument.

I interrupt her by pulling her into a strong embrace, cradling her face into my neck.

"That was so brave of you." I mutter into her neck.

"Only for you…" she whispers back.

I pull back quickly. "You need to understand something Alison Dilaurentis and it's that I care about you so much. I am so entranced by you that I would do anything for you. I don't want to hurt, nor do I ever want you to put yourself in harms way because of me. I'd die if something happens to you…okay?" I ask seriously.

She nods her head numbly. "I'm sorry for being so over dramatic. I just…I wanted to make sure that you knew I was trying to be a better person. I know I could have stopped it days ago with the snap of my fingers. But I wanted to prove to you that I would take a bullet if you needed me to." She reasons.

I smile and give her a kiss on her lips. "If you couldn't tell by the ripe smell coming from my shirt, I'd take a bullet for you to."

She laughs and pulls me into a deeper kiss. "Gosh I love you…" she says

I freeze

"You what?"


End file.
